Deze auteur duikt diep in de studie van de islamitische wetenschap en onderzoekt de uitdagingen en keuzes bij het interpreteren van de erfenis van de Profeet. Zijn werk richt zich op het begrijpen van Hadith, de islamitische wet en de diverse stromingen binnen de islamitische traditie, waaronder salafisme en soefisme. Door zijn publicaties biedt hij lezers een alomvattend beeld van de ontwikkeling en het hedendaagse begrip van de islamitische beschaving. Zijn onderzoek draagt bij aan een bredere waardering van de islamitische geschiedenis en gedachte.
In this Very Short Introduction Jonathan A. Brown presents both the Muslim version of Muhammad's life, as well as the efforts of Western scholars to uncover the historical Muhammad. He considers the prominent roles that Muhammad's persona has played in the lives of Muslims throughout history, looking at his life and legacy.
A vivid and exciting account of royal collectors, art dealers, connoisseurs, and the rise of old master paintings Old master paintings are among the most valuable and prestigious of the visual arts, and the best examples command the highest prices of any luxury commodity. In Kings and Connoisseurs, Jonathan Brown tells the story of how painting rose to this exalted status. The transformation of painting from an inexpensive to a costly art form reached a crucial stage in the royal courts of Europe in the seventeenth century, where rulers and aristocrats assembled huge collections, often in short periods of time. By comparing collecting and collectors at these courts, Brown explains the formation of new attitudes toward pictures, as well as the mechanisms that supported the enterprise of collecting, including the emergence of the art dealer, the development of connoisseurship, and the publication of sumptuous picture books of various collections. The result is an exciting narrative of greed and passion, played out against a background of international politics and intrigue.