Andrea Maddalena's book will be published in October 2025
"With new eyes - Looking at Vermeer through Mondrian's glasses"
original title "Met nieuwe ogen - Vermeer door de lens van Mondriaan"
Stuivenberg's promotional brochure
The book, written in Dutch and physically available from mid-October 2025, is now available for pre-order on the following platforms:
Bol.com
Amazon.nl
Libris.nl
Bruna.nl
Boekenwereld.com
(The real book cover is not the one shown on online sales platforms, because it was later replaced by the actual cover intended for the Dutch market, here to be found on this page.)
In October 2025, 350 years after the death of the painter Johannes Vermeer, Andrea Maddalena's book "With new eyes - Looking at Vermeer through Mondrian's glasses" is going to be published in Dutch. The book analyzes the work of Johannes Vermeer, which remains the main topic, comparing it with the work of another great Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian.
Vermeer and Mondrian are two of the most famous, iconic, and internationally admired Dutch painters. No book until now had dared to compare their work, although this matter was not completely unknown in the scientific entourage. Thanks to this comparison, Johannes Vermeer's work is going to be transformed and no longer seen in the same light. This also opens up new perspectives on 300 years of Dutch pictorial art, placing the Netherlands under a special observation point. And for anyone genuinely interested in the true meaning of a work of art, this book offers new and profound food for thought and interpretation.
The book's double preface has been written by philosopher Jan Bor, author of the book 'Mondriaan filosoof', and Herman Weyers, director of the Vermeer Centrum Delft. Both played a major role in the creation of this book.
The book is characterized by a strong visual approach, aimed at a more direct understanding of the concepts supported by the author.
Although a comparison between Vermeer and Mondrian — separated by about 250 years — may at first glance seem quite inappropriate, it was deliberately intended and is the result of a specific intention. The book offers an in-depth exploration of the painting styles of the two artists, whose seemingly extreme differences actually converge in every aspect. Vermeer and his intense stillness. Mondrian and his sense of balance in composition. Vermeer and his masterful control of light. Mondrian and his rigorous abstraction and use of primary colors. We come to discover that Vermeer and Mondrian essentially have everything in common: color theory, abstraction, light, stillness, balance, precision and slowness, orthogonal lines, surfaces, use of color, geometric patterns, autonomy of color from form, symbolism, ethics. Everything fits. The book thus becomes an adventurous journey into the art of two titans of Dutch painting, as well as a rare opportunity to rediscover the true meaning of a work of art, and universal aspects and concepts scattered throughout at least 300 years of Dutch painting.
Mondrian stated: “...so I abstract, until I have obtained the essence of true reality.” In this book — the result of ten years of research and almost three years of work — Andrea Maddalena, just like Vermeer in his paintings, will try to lift the veil of appearance to reveal what Vermeer and Mondrian really represent: artists in search of the essence of reality, and therefore uncompromisingly universal. And where art is universal, it becomes a wonderful opportunity for personal growth and development. The book is an indispensable opportunity to train oneself to understand the deepest and most important universal aspects of a work of art, something to which readers and art lovers in general are not yet accustomed. For this reason, the book is aimed at an audience of art lovers who, out of passion and a thirst for knowledge, wish to go beyond a superficial description of the work and, above all, seek to grasp its true meaning.
The main contributions of the book:
- To demonstrate, 350 years after Vermeer's death, how both Johannes Vermeer and Piet Mondrian drew on a common and universal artistic language.
- To provide a new and more in-depth interpretation of Vermeer's works, including the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring, based on elements that have never been considered before.
- To deepen and clarify the concepts underlying the art of Vermeer and Mondrian.
- To provide a reinterpretation of 300 years of Dutch painting.
- To bring art lovers closer to the concept of art as a source of personal awareness and development.
Who this book is for:
- Anyone who is genuinely interested in art and its intrinsic meaning, who feels an urgent need to look beyond the technical aspects, anecdotes, and factual knowledge of art.
- Anyone who considers art not only a sublime result of human creativity, but also a powerful tool for personal growth and awareness.
- Anyone who is sensitive to the subtle aspects of reality and constantly seeks them out.
- Researchers and art historians who wish to continue the research presented in this book.
The book is solidly documented and is suitable for an academic audience as well. The theories contained in this book are appreciated and encouraged by numerous renowned national and international Vermeer experts:
Herman Weyers - Director of the Vermeer Centrum Delft:
“Interesting material. And there's enough to write a book.”
Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. - Renowned American expert on Vermeer and art historian:
"You have clearly thought long and hard about the character of Vermeer's, Mondriaan's, and De Hooch's paintings and the pictorial elements that they shared, particularly color, perspective, harmony, and compositional balance. I couldn't agree with you more that color should be considered more extensively in assessments of Vermeer and other Dutch artists than is generally the case, particularly the emotions and passions that they suggest/symbolize. This is a subject of great interest to me..."
Gregor Weber - Curator of the 2023 Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam:
“On behalf of the Rijksmuseum, I would like to thank you for sharing your writings on Vermeer, De Hooch, and Mondrian. They contain many forms of inter-painting studies with illuminating ideas.”
Caro Verbeek - Curator at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag and Mondrian expert:
“Thank you for the articles. I enjoyed reading them. It was a great journey.”
Onno Maurer - Director of Museum Flehite, Amersfoort:
“Interesting. It has already been discussed at an academic level, but no one had yet written a book on the subject.”
