Clark Curator Explores 'Enigmatic' Artist in New Book
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Lara Yeager-Crasselt's enthusiasm was palpable as she gestured to an image of a painting in her newly published book "Michael Sweerts (1618-1664): Shaping the Artist and the Academy in Rome and Brussels."
"This is called 'A Painter's Studio,' " Yeager-Crasselt said. "It was done when Sweerts was in Rome and shows how he approached the subject of artists at work 'with an exceptional degree of immediacy and complexity,' which distinguished him from his contemporaries."
Asked what motivated her to write a book about Sweerts, Yeager-Crasselt replied, "It happened by accident. In a graduate class, I wrote a research paper about Sweerts. He's fascinating, complicated.
"I'm particularly interested in images of artists at work in the studio, engaging and exploring question of how artists were educated. My book examines the exchange of these ideas across Europe [in the 17th century], focusing on Italy and the Netherlands."
Yeager-Crasselt will discuss her book on Sunday, May 15, at 3 p.m. in the Michael Conforti Pavilion of the Clark Art Institute, where she is interim curator of paintings and sculpture. The free lecture will be followed by a book signing.
The first-time author has no qualms about speaking in front of an audience: it is an experience with which she is familiar. She has given talks at conferences pertaining to art and was an art history lecturer at Catholic University of America and George Washington University in Washington, D.C., for a total of three years.
Sweerts has been described as an itinerant artist. "He was a Northern Baroque artist who came from Brussels, spent a lot of time in Rome, went back to Brussels and then went to Amsterdam. He joined a group of missionaries setting sail for Asia, and at some point in the mission, he was asked to leave. He went on to India, " Yaeger-Crasselt explained.
In a quest for information about Sweerts, Yeager-Crasselt traveled to Europe several times for weeks at a time within three years.
"I went to the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy," she said. "One of the most exciting times was doing research in the Brussels archives and being able to hold and read documents that were written in the 17th century. It was a challenge to find documents from that period, however, since little survives, it still only gives you little glimpses into this world, not the whole picture."
It seems that Yeager-Crasselt was destined to pursue an arts education and a career in the arts.
"My parents were very much into art. My father is a dentist, but he sculpts. We went to every museum wherever we traveled. It was a natural thing to have art around me," she said.
At the University of Maryland, Yeager-Crasselt earned a doctorate in art history in the college of arts and humanities.
"I was fortunate to have professor Arthur Wheelock Jr. as my dissertation adviser. He became a valued mentor," she said, and came under Wheelock's supervision when she was awarded a museum fellowship and did research at the National Gallery of Art in D.C., where Wheelock was (and still is) the curator of Northern Baroque paintings.
"Lara worked in my office," said Wheelock in a telephone interview. "She was great — gracious, poised and someone who is at ease with what she is doing.
"We both wanted her dissertation to be transformed into a book. There are many challenges involved in doing that, who would be a good publisher and would present it right."
Searching for a good publisher who was willing to accept her work did not prove to be a challenge for Yeager-Crasselt, as it does for many first-time authors.
Yeager-Crasselt had an opportunity to speak at a conference in Belgium through a Belgian American Education Foundation Fellowship.
"There I met scholars and a representative of international publishers, Brepols. She said they were interested in [my] topic [which was based on her dissertation]."
So, Yeager-Crasselt submitted a book proposal to Brepols. "I waited months — very anxious for good news," she said.
When the good news came, it took two years to make necessary revisions to turn a dissertation into a publishable book.
The author returned to Amsterdam in January specifically for the launch of "Michael Sweerts" held at Rijksmuseum, a Dutch national museum that is reported to have more of Sweerts' paintings than any other art institution.
"I dedicated the book to my parents, and my husband, Jost, who were incredibly supportive," said Yeager-Crasselt. "It's rewarding after so many years of research, travel, energy and effort, to hold the book in my hands."
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