Op tijdreis door de schilderkunst #1

A time-travel journey through the history of painting, this first of two volumes — subtitled van Lascaux tot Vermeer — promises a sweeping tour from prehistoric cave art to the Dutch Golden Age. Gradimir Smudja's cover is a delightful parade of artists across the centuries, rendered in a loose, expressive style: a prehistoric figure scratching animals onto rock in the upper left mingles with Renaissance-dressed painters, palette-wielding figures in Baroque ruffs and doublets, and a cheerful cast of elaborately costumed characters spanning what appears to be nearly the full arc of Western art history. Published by Silvester in 2018, this Dutch-language album wears its cultural ambition lightly, inviting readers along on what looks to be a warm and wonderfully illustrated grand tour.