Eleanor Chan is currently a research fellow at the Warburg Institute, University of London. She has studied at the University of Cambridge and the Courtauld Institute of Art, has taught at the Universities of Cambridge, Doshisha, Sheffield and Manchester, and held fellowships with the Leverhulme Trust, Society for Renaissance Studies, Paul Mellon Center for Studies in British Art and the Renaissance Society of America. She is the author of Mathematics and the Craft of Thought (Routledge, 2021) and Syrene Sounds: False Relations in the English Renaissance (Oxford University Press, 2024). Chan is a BBC/AHRC New Generation Thinker.

"A swooping, capacious, and beautiful history of how we see music, of the intrinsic connection of eye and ear. The scope is breathtaking: no genre, context, or artefact seems out of bounds for Chan's brilliant and insightful analysis. Duet is a testament to the musicality and artistry of the human experience and, frankly, I wish there were more books like this."--Emily MacGregor, author of While the Music Lasts

"Classical musician and art historian Chan explores the many ways 'the musical and the visual have been entangled, ' arguing that humans possess a deep desire to see music. Her compelling case: music has never existed purely as sound. Throughout this thought-provoking history, Chan illuminates the intrinsic relationship between what we hear and what we see."--Booklist

"A sensational book. Chan roves across her vast subject with confidence and grace, thrilling the reader with one eye-opening insight after another. I will never see art, and hear music, in quite the same way again."--James Fox, author of The World According to Colour

"Scholarly, moving and with an epic scope, Chan's work shows why music is at the core of what it means to be human."--Paul Cooper, author of Fall of Civilizations

"A visual journey through sound. Chan, a classically trained musician and art historian, offers an 'insight into the sheer variety of ways the visual has been integral to music throughout history.' A perky, enthusiastic foray into the overlap of music, art, and history."--Kirkus Reviews

"A mind-expanding exploration of music as a history of human interactions with the world. Erudite, beautifully written, and bursting with ideas, Chan's Duet opens our ears and eyes to the deep, creative entanglements of music and the visual arts."--Dr. Jill Burke, author of How to be a Renaissance Woman

"With erudition and elegance, classically trained musician and art historian Chan explores how music is viscerally linked to visual art. This illuminating and impassioned deep dive holds many treasures."--Publishers Weekly

"A lively illustrated history of the bond between music and the visual arts. With grace and passion, Ms. Chan makes the case for music as a catalyst for submerged emotions so intense, so combustible, they can generate more art. It's a fascinating way to see songs, airs and symphonies: full of lost moments and feelings, waiting to stir within us and leap before our eyes."--The Wall Street Journal