The Secret History of Art: Noah's Letter on Van Eyck's "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" in This Week's New Yorker

Read Noah's letter about the stolen Judges panel from Jan van Eyck's Ghent Altarpiece in this week's New Yorker.

Praise for Charney's "Stealing the Mystic Lamb"

The author…with specialty expertise to spare…[provides] an intriguing blend of reportage and art history, providing what is in effect a remarkable “biography’ of this beautiful and tough survivor [The Ghent Altarpiece]. -The Sunday Times UK

Well-written and thorough, this book reminds us of the influence and fragility of art, our veniality and heroism, and the delights found in both the beautiful and the strange. -Cleveland Plain Dealer

A brisk tale of true-life heroism, villainy, artistry and passion. -Kirkus Reviews

In scrupulous detail, Charney divulges the secrets of the revered painting’s past, and in doing so, gives readers a history lesson on art crime, a still-prospering black market. -Christian Science Monitor

I am awed by the magnitude of the things I don’t know. Although art is surely a subjective experience, expertise is often required to nudge one along to appreciation. I would not have paused to look at 'The Mystic Lamb' without Charney’s backstory. It still does not appeal to me as a thing of beauty or as inspiration. But I confess, Charney has me wishing I could see the Altarpiece in Ghent. -The Providence Journal

Deftly narrated. -Los Angeles Times

Wonderfully learned and entertaining…innovative and elegant. -Catholic Herald

Praise for Charney's "The Art Thief"

Fascinating details about Caravaggio and Vermeer, the lucrative business of art forgery and the sophisticated thieves who steal priceless paintings. -USA Today

An engaging whodunnit. -Financial Times

Descriptively brilliant and filled with witticisms, this fine romp features a clever and well-drawn cast of characters, as well as educates readers about real masterpieces and the artists behind them. -Rocky Mountain News

Clever and addictive...A first-class example of literate escapism...[Charney] might do for the art world what Tom Clancy has done for the military-espionage milieu. -Richmond Times-Dispatch

The Secret History of Art

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Dec 13, 2010

Noah's Letter on Van Eyck's "Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" in This Week's New Yorker