Aspects of Vermeers Paintings
Embedded Files
"Somehow Vermeers paintings seem to transcend time and place. They may have been painted several hundred years ago, but they are almost shockingly present.... Most of his compositions seem to invite you in, to envelop you as if you are actually there, even if you are living in the modern-day present. Vermeer creates a stillness in his works that brings us to a halt, and he lets us forget our busy lives, bombarded by fast moving images and sound. In other words, Vermeer invites us into his world and slows us down, without ever revealing to us exactly how he did it."
Repetitive themes.
It's in the Details...
over and over again in plain sight
Besides reusing settings and furniture and certain colours, there were a few key things that appear repeatedly in Vermeer's paintings.
In Our Story
"Calder flipped back and forth in the book, looking at some of the other Vermeer paintings. Most of them showed people in front of a window; the Geographer's rug appeared in many of the paintings, and the same yellow jacket turned up in a number of places. The pictures made you feel as though you were peeking in at someone else's private moment....
It occurred to Calder that there could be hidden information here - after all, codes involved repetition, and the same objects appeared again and again in Vermeer's work." (p. 74)
Pearls
It's maybe safe to say that Vermeer was fascinated by Pearls. ..they appear in 18 of the 36 paintings he did. As far back as antiquity, pearls were cherished due to their rarity and beauty. In the Middle Ages, they exuded power and status. From the 19th century on they were a sign of wealth.
More
People did not yet understand how this rare natural product was created, So numerous myths were thought up to explain how pearls were formed. We now know that natural saltwater pearls develop when a little creature or grain of sand enters a mollusc. This can be an mussel, an oyster or even a snail. The mollusc forms a pearl sac around the stray parasite or dirt. This process is repeated many times and the pearl gradually grows. Pearls come in all kinds of colours but the women in Vermeer's paintings wear ivory coloured examples.
The Dutch Republic participated in the thriving trade in pearls. Divers used heavy stones to help them to rapidly descend into the depths, in the hope of gathering several oysters. They sometimes had to collect more than 1,000 oysters before they came across a single attractive pearl.
Vermeer painted pearls in different ways..
The layering of paint for the differing pearls depends on the size, position in the composition and the style Vermeer adopted.
Here the pearls consist of white dots painted on a grey-brown band. The skin of the woman is in shadow and forms the basis of the necklace.
This teardrop shaped pearl earring is comprised of a matte white ground layer upon which two highlights are painted.
Examination of these rounder pearls reveals that they were the final addition to the painting. Ivory base layer with reflections in white. Darker colours for the left handed earring because it is in shadow. Still it is recognizable as a pearl thanks to the delicate white highlight.
This pearl is almost made of nothing. Just a few brushstrokes of grey and white to suggest a matte sheen and spherical shape. At the bottom is the reflection of the girls collar. On the left the paint is applied more thickly to indicate where the most light is reflected.
Music
Music was a common subject of Dutch Golden Age pictures. This would have resonated with wealthy clientele, many of whom would have received musical instruction as part of a typical upperclass education. The instruments could have been suggestions of harmonious relationships in the paintings. Or an allusion to music's restorative powers.
Cittern
Viola de Gamba
Harpsicord
Virginal
Videos
Maps
The maps and globes in the paintings of Vermeer have long intrigued scholars. Regarded as the prime illustration of the popularity that cartography enjoyed in the Netherlands during its Golden Age.
A prominently positioned wall map of the Netherlands showed how effective they could be in spreading geographical knowledge as well as adding to the décor. Unsurprisingly it was the same map that appeared in many of Vermeer's paintings. There is also a map of Europe in his "Lady with a Lute."
In "The Art of Painting" there is a huge map adorning a wall in the studio. Vermeer's skillful handling of light gives it substance and a sense of weight. Still its decorative and geographical contents are distinguishable.
A globe is pictured as a main object in his "Allegory of Faith."
"The Geographer", of course, is surrounded by cartographic material. The globe is featured here prominently also.
Paintings
Paintings WITHIN a painting?? Vermeer painted everyday scenes set in bourgeois Dutch houses. So paintings on walls should not be surprising since they would have been a usual decoration. Some think, too though, that Vermeer took special interest in choosing significance and a conscious connection between the "everyday" scenes in the foreground and the subjects of the pictures-within-these-pictures. He also, like with other elements in his work, employs the same pictures in multiple paintings changing its shape and size.
Cupid is of course loves messenger. An amorous context is set which can be connected with the music being played.
In "The Love Letter" the reader of a letter is placed against a wall on which there is set a seascape. Which could be viewed as a comparison between love and the sea. Or the lover and the ship.
It is thought that this picture-within-a-picture is representative of Roman Charity and invokes the themes of consolation and refreshment which links to the text in the sheet of music here.
Vermeer placed the woman holding the balance here in the foreground so that she occupies the place in the painting above where the Archangel Michael, the weigher of souls, would otherwise stand in the painting above her. Making a clear relation between worldly riches and spiritual values.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse