The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter: A Portrait of Descartes

by Steven Nadler

Overview

How a famous painting opens a window into the life, times, and philosophy of René Descartes

In the Louvre museum hangs a portrait that is considered the iconic image of René Descartes, the great seventeenth-century French philosopher. And the painter of the work? The Dutch master Frans Hals—or so it was long believed, until the work was downgraded to a copy of an original. But where is the authentic version, and who painted it? Is the man in the painting—and in its original—really Descartes?

A unique combination of philosophy, biography, and art history, The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter investigates the remarkable individuals and circumstances behind a small portrait. Through this image—and the intersecting lives of a brilliant philosopher, a Catholic priest, and a gifted painter—Steven Nadler opens a fascinating portal into Descartes's life and times, skillfully presenting an accessible introduction to Descartes's philosophical and scientific ideas, and an illuminating tour of the volatile political and religious environment of the Dutch Golden Age. As Nadler shows, Descartes's innovative ideas about the world, about human nature and knowledge, and about philosophy itself, stirred great controversy. Philosophical and theological critics vigorously opposed his views, and civil and ecclesiastic authorities condemned his writings. Nevertheless, Descartes's thought came to dominate the philosophical world of the period, and can rightly be called the philosophy of the seventeenth century.

Shedding light on a well-known image, The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter offers an engaging exploration of a celebrated philosopher's world and work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691165752
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	05/26/2015
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Steven Nadler is the William H. Hay II Professor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin—Madison. His books include Rembrandt's Jews, which was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize; Spinoza: A Life, which won the Koret Jewish Book Award; and A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age (Princeton).

Table of Contents

Illustrations ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Chapter 1 Prologue: A Tale of Two Paintings 1
Chapter 2 The Philosopher 8
Chapter 3 The Priest 36
Chapter 4 The Painter 55
Chapter 5 "Once in a Lifetime" 87
Chapter 6 A New Philosophy 111
Chapter 7 God in Haarlem 143
Chapter 8 The Portrait 174
Notes 199
Bibliography 219
Index 227

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"The famous painting of Descartes by Frans Hals that hangs in the Louvre is, in fact, not by Frans Hals. And a similar things-are-not-what-they-seem quality applies to this clever little book. For behind the telling of the story of a clutch of paintings and a group of friends in the seventeenth century, Nadler gives us a brisk and lively account of Descartes' philosophy, which, more than any other, would become the foundation of modernity."—Russell Shorto, author of Descartes' Bones

"This lucid and readable book serves as a biography, an exposition of philosophy, and a rich tapestry of Dutch history and culture."—Larry Silver, University of Pennsylvania

"The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter is an excellent introduction for general readers to Descartes and his thought. Nadler brings the story and ideas to life."—Daniel Garber, Princeton University

Editorial Reviews

"Cartesian iconography centers around a widely known portrait of Descartes attributed to Frans Hals. In this book, Nadler uses the story of that painting's origin to present a study of Descartes and his philosophy that will be accessible to a wide audience. . . . [T]his volume serves as a very good introduction to Descartes's philosophy in historical context."

Choice

"[C]harming. . . . Nadler, an American philosopher and author, has written an immensely readable introduction to Descartes."

Australian

Much of Nadler's work exemplifies what the French call "haute vulgarisation," high-level popularization. You don't need to have aced Epistemology 101 to understand his books; you just need to pay close attention to his clear, patient exposition. In The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter, Nadler has…written his most inviting book yet…[this] survey of Golden Age Dutch culture, Cartesian philosophy and art connoisseurship…makes for heady and very welcome intellectual entertainment.

The Washington Post - Michael Dirda

In the Louvre hangs a portrait of a dark-haired, middle-aged man wearing a black coat. The label identifies the figure as the 17th-century philosopher René Descartes. It’s a “copy of a Hals” (referring to the Dutch portraitist Frans Hals). Is it really Descartes? Could it be a portrait by Hals and not a copy? Did someone commission this portrait? In a convoluted tale that is part detective story, part art history, and part history of philosophy, Nadler (Spinoza) tries to answer these questions. Along the way, he provides a brief introduction to Descartes’s life and thought; in the early part of the 17th century, Descartes traveled to the Netherlands in order to “raise mind above the level of book learning.” While he remained only a few years, he returned permanently in 1629 in search of peace and quiet, and published Discourse on Method there in 1637. This work—containing Decartes’s declaration, “I think, therefore I am”—brought him into contact with artists and religious thinkers, including Augustijn Bloemaert and Johan Albert Ban. When Queen Christina of Sweden invited Descartes to be her tutor in 1647, he began preparations to depart from the Netherlands, and Bloemaert sought to have Descartes’s portrait painted as a memento. Better suited as a journal article, Nadler’s lackluster tale has limited appeal. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"[A]bsorbing."

France Magazine

"Steven Nadler has produced another gem of original research and lively and lucid writing."—-Catherine Wilson, Times Literary Supplement

"Riveting. . . . In The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter, Nadler has . . . written his most inviting book yet. . . . Nadler's detective work makes for fascinating reading. . . . [T]he resulting survey of Golden Age Dutch culture, Cartesian philosophy and art connoisseurship . . . makes for . . . very welcome intellectual entertainment."—-Michael Dirda, Washington Post

"[B]y situating him firmly in his time and place, [Nadler] makes clear what made Descartes the intellectual superstar of his day. . . . [A]n original, intriguing set-up. . . . [A]s an introduction to Descartes' philosophy, it is excellent."—-David Wolf, Slate

"As one would expect from a distinguished philosopher such as Nadler, the description of Descartes's philosophy, and in particular his Discourse (1637) and Meditations (1641), is flawless."—-Jerry Brotton, Literary Review

From the Publisher

"[C]harming. . . . Nadler, an American philosopher and author, has written an immensely readable introduction to Descartes."

Australian

Praise for Steven Nadler's A Book Forged in Hell:"[A] delightfully lucid and philosophically thorough account. . . . What makes Nadler's so welcome a contribution is the care and the clarity of his philosophical exposition.

New Republic - Peter Gordon

[A] landscape (or at least a well-turned charcoal sketch) of religious, artistic, and economic life in the Netherlands during the first half of the 17th century. . . . Nadler's book . . . takes us back upstream a ways—beginning, rather than exempting us from, a dialog with the dead.

Inside Higher Ed - Scott McLemee

[B]y situating him firmly in his time and place, [Nadler] makes clear what made Descartes the intellectual superstar of his day. . . . [A]n original, intriguing set-up. . . . [A]s an introduction to Descartes' philosophy, it is excellent.

Slate - David Wolf

As one would expect from a distinguished philosopher such as Nadler, the description of Descartes's philosophy, and in particular his Discourse (1637) and Meditations (1641), is flawless.

Literary Review - Jerry Brotton

Riveting. . . . In The Philosopher, the Priest, and the Painter, Nadler has . . . written his most inviting book yet. . . . Nadler's detective work makes for fascinating reading. . . . [T]he resulting survey of Golden Age Dutch culture, Cartesian philosophy and art connoisseurship . . . makes for . . . very welcome intellectual entertainment.

Washington Post - Michael Dirda

Praise for Steven Nadler's A Book Forged in Hell:"[A] delightfully lucid and philosophically thorough account. . . . What makes Nadler's so welcome a contribution is the care and the clarity of his philosophical exposition.
— Peter Gordon

New Republic

"A small, intimate portrait" illustrating the biography of René Descartes and his ideas. Nadler (Philosophy/Univ. of Wisconsin; A Book Forged in Hell: Spinoza's Scandalous Treatise and the Birth of the Secular Age, 2011, etc.) believes that Descartes "belongs as much to the intellectual culture of the Dutch Golden Age as he does to the grand history of Western philosophy whose development he so strongly influenced." Feeling politically constrained in France, Descartes moved to Holland to work, but his philosophy aroused controversy and opposition in Dutch universities as well. Nadler situates the French philosopher's life in its Dutch context and frames the narrative with an investigation into a few portraits of Descartes. One was supposedly painted by Frans Hals and is in Copenhagen. The author demonstrates that there may be a possibility that one of Descartes' friends commissioned the portrait from Hals as a memento prior to the philosopher's 1649 departure on a visit to the queen of Sweden. This would have been from the period he lived in the village where he wrote the Discourse on Method and Principles of Philosophy. The friend was the Catholic priest Augustijn Alsten Blomart, who lived in the city of Haarlem, just south of Descartes' country-village home. Blomart, as Nadler shows, was well-integrated into contemporary Dutch literary, artistic, scientific and political circles. Hals also lived and worked in Haarlem. Nadler discusses the extant portraits of the philosopher, as well as their provenance and what is known of the context in which they were produced. He also provides a chronological summary of Descartes' philosophical works in relation to their Dutch context. A generalist brings together three fields--philosophy, religion and art--often kept separate.

Kirkus Reviews