Skip to main content

Vermeer, painter of Mystery

Johannes Vermeer - Woman Holding a Balance - Google Art Project
Woman Holding a Balance, 1664

Johannes Vermeer was baptised on October 31, 1632—the exact date is not known. A master of indoor scenes with cool daylight, Vermeer worked slowly and deliberately, with particular attention to objects, details, body language, symbolism and composition. His exact technique is something of debate amoung scholars, with theories floating around about everything from camera obscura devices to complex glazing techniques, yet one thing is certain: no drawings of his survive. It brings attention to how he was able to conceive of such elaborate compositions without the slightest preparatory sketch or drawing, and even looking at his work up close he often blurs details and smooths out brushstrokes, as if trying to mimic a camera. At any rate his understanding of light and how it falls on an object or person, inspired by the studies of Da Vinci, reveal a simple yet very complex observational skills and technique.

In Woman Holding a Balance Vermeer's delicate rendering of light and of women reveal a humble grace in this corner-room perspective that would dominate most of his paintings. A curious thing about Vermeer is that his figures are not outlined in any sort of line, and if they were blocked in this way he must have went through great pains to remove any trace of line. All his edges have been blended and softened, only showing any kind of sharpness if the light is catching it. His brush seems to even glide over any trace of anatomical structure, as the hands in this painting are quite simplistic up close yet appear accurate from a distance. Vermeer may have also experimented with different brushes to achieve his soft edges.



Read more about his technique here


And check out this four-part video series narrated by Meryl Streep





Johannes Vermeer - De Soldaat en het Lachende Meisje - Google Art Project
Officer and Laughing Girl, 1657

A surprisingly modern composition, this painting always strikes me this way every time I see it. An oddity of this painting is that the young girl is looking off into space to the left of the officer instead of directly into his eyes. The way that he sits with his back partially to us is curious and interesting compared to how small she appears to us, as if distorted by a camera lens. The strong use of red seems to suggest his intentions with her are anything but innocent, (especially in that he is hidden in shadow) and her smile may be a sign of cheerful acquiescence.





Jan Vermeer - The Art of Painting - Google Art Project
The Art of Painting,1668

Another strikingly modern painting, portrays the act of painting as a stage, a performance with the painter just as much the actor as the main subject. All is carefully arranged and nothing is quite as real as it seems. Vermeer's shadows are incredibly transparent and again, those edges are smoothened to the point of nonexistence. Here also the vibrant texture of the drapery framing the left side of the painting is captivating from afar yet up close we see a strange pattern of highlights and fuzzy shapes. The tiles on the floor are amazing to see up close, for we see somewhat harder edges on the black tiles with faint glowing warm white texture on the white tiles. Vermeer may have been the very first Post-Modern artist.







Johannes Vermeer - Girl Reading a Letter by an Open Window - Google Art Project
Girl Reading a Letter by an Open Window, 1659


A more poignant piece that is atypical of his work, this young woman is bathed in a warm morning light, with a bowl of fruit spilling over on the bed. The use of complementary colors in the vertical drapery is effective in framing her, along with the warm blue window frame with a brilliant soft shadow on the wall. Note her distorted reflection in the glass. The teeming glow of light on the wall behind her is an effect that would be reproduced by Turner over a century later. Vermeer creates a quiet mood here as in all of his paintings, yet he is always reminding us that it is only a painting.







The Milkmaid, ca.1660

My favourite of Vermeer's for many reasons, in particular his use of color and light, food, and the rendering of the figure is his most realistic. The way the corner of the room changes from very cool greens to a dull chalky hue is brilliant. And there is no flamboyant drapery anywhere here. Just the truth. Vermeer's truth.







Comments

Popular posts from this blog

More Old Master Drawings

There is nothing in all the world more beautiful or significant of the laws of the universe than the nude human body. Robert Henri Charles Louis Müller , A Standing Female Nude Leaning Against an Arch, ca.1864 Once again I decided to talk about some Old Master drawings and delve into the thinking behind how these drawings may have been created and the knowledge of the artist. In the above drawing by Müller, done in sanguine with white chalk highlights, the figure is drawn from a low view-point, with her body twisting toward her left side while resting on one knee. Note how Müller alternates the bent right leg with the bent left arm to create dynamic contrast. The right arm is also foreshortened and partially in shadow. Expressing power and femininity, this is a study that is Renaissance in spirit, even Mannerist, revealing the female nude as sculptural yet always graceful. Anton Raphael Mengs , Seated male nude viewed from the back, 1755 One of several Academic nu

The Genius of Ramon Casas

Open Air Interior, 1892 Born on January 4, 1866 in Barcelona, Ramon Casas i Carbó was a Spanish portrait painter and graphic designer. He was a contemporary of Santiago Rusiñol , both founders of the Spanish art movement modernisme . Where Santiago painted pensive interiors and moody landscapes, Casas focused more on the portrait and figure with a penchant for costume and posture. His palette often consists of more muted tones with vibrant color accents. Casas enjoyed a lengthy and prominent career throughout Europe and South America where he often exhibited in shows with his friend Rusiñol. In Open Air Interior above, Casas encapsulates a quiet moment outdoors during tea time. I love these kind of paintings for their calm visual intensity. The way that man sits in his chair, lost in thought while his wife carefully stirs her tea...this is the kind of mindfulness in the subjects that makes us, the viewer, envision ourselves in this scene. Casas paints the far wall of the house

Isaac Levitan, Russian Poet of Nature

Before the Storm, 1890 Born August 30, 1860, Isaac Ilyich Levitan was a Russian landscape painter. Born in Congress Poland to a Jewish family, Levitan would study art in Moscow where he would become friends with Anton Chekov and his brother, Nikolay who was also an artist. Levitan's work has a unique mood that is very distinct from the Impressionism of France and the Classicism of Russia...sometimes compared to Monet but still different. Levitan has a rare presence with astute attention to detail and a fascination with light at different times of day. At times highly accurate, while in his more personal work deeply Impressionistic and imbued with rich tone and color. There is something about Levitan that lingers in your mind long after seeing his work...in a way that is individual and personal, not attached to a specific genre or movement, but to the world around him. In Before the Storm , Levitan captures a moment so stunning it seems to defy words...of sunlight piercing