Never once did Vermeer Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime but evidently was not wealthy, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death, perhaps because h…Johannes Vermeer
What kind of art did Vermeer do in the Golden Age?
The following is a list of paintings by the Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675). After two or three early history paintings, he concentrated almost entirely on genre works, typically interiors with one or two figures.
When did Johannes Vermeer die?
Johannes Vermeer, Johannes also rendered Jan (baptized October 31, 1632, Delft, Netherlands-buried December 16, 1675, Delft), Dutch artist who created paintings that are among the most beloved and revered images in the history of art.
Where did Vermeer get his inspiration?
It seems that Vermeer turned for inspiration to the art of the fijnschilders from Leiden. Vermeer was responding to the market of Gerard Dou 's paintings, who sold his paintings for exorbitant prices. Dou may have influenced Pieter de Hooch and Gabriel Metsu, too.
What type of signature does Vermeer use in the painting?
The letters e and r are in so-called "cursiva humanistica" style formed differently from those which appear on legal documents signed by the artist. The Girl with a Red Ha t is signed with only the monogram only of type c signature. After devising type c signature Vermeer used another type of signature in only two paintings.
How many Vermeer paintings exist today?
Through more than one hundred and fifty years of rather painstaking study since 1850, scholars have identified thirty-four, perhaps thirty-five, paintings they now safely attribute to Johannes Vermeer.
Did Vermeer sell his paintings?
Vermeer had no followers or apprentices to spread his style, and worse, he painted slowly and sold many works to a single collector in the small-town of Delft. So soon after he died, his name was forgotten by all but a few Dutch art experts.
How do I find the signature of a painting?
ArtistsSignatures.com makes it easier to determine the indentity of an artist even when their signature is illegible or unrecognizable. Our powerful character match search engine allows you to enter vague details such as one or two letters in the artist's signature or monogram and returns all possible matches.
Who copied Vermeer paintings?
Art Forger Han van Meegeren Fooled the World Into Believing His Fake Vermeers. A New Film Unpacks His Bag of Tricks. Guy Pearce plays the forger in "The Last Vermeer." Fifty.
How much does a Vermeer painting cost?
A painting attributed to 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer sold at an auction in London for $10.7 million (6.2 million pounds) on Tuesday.
Is Vermeer in love with Griet?
In the wake of this denial, Tracy Chevalier's novel Girl With a Pearl Earring provided an alternative, fictional answer: She was the family maid's assistant, Griet (played by Scarlett Johansson in the film), who became Vermeer's love interest.
Is there an app to identify artist signature?
A new app lets people scan a work of art with their smartphone camera to find out more about it and save a digital copy. The app, called Smartify, uses image recognition to identify scanned artworks and provide people with additional information about them.
How can you tell if a painting is an original or a print?
If your artwork image has what looks like a clean, straight, arbitrary boundary around it that doesn't extend to the edges of the canvas, paper or other surface, you most likely have a print of some sort.
How can you tell if a painting is valuable?
How to Tell if a Painting is ValuableFind Out Who Owned It Beforehand. ... Figure Out Who the Artist Is. ... Check the Condition of the Piece. ... Consider the Subject Matter. ... Check the Frame. ... What was it Painted On? ... What Colors Are Included? ... How Big is It?More items...•
Is the last Vermeer true?
The Last Vermeer is a historical film based on real-life events. It is based on a book written by Jonathan Lopez, The Man Who Made Vermeers. The film is directed by Dan Friedkin.
Is art protected by copyright?
To start, you need to know that copyright is an “automatic right.” Copyright automatically protects your work from the moment it is fixed in a tangible form. In other words, once you create a piece of art, write a story, or write down or record a musical composition, it is protected by copyright.
How common is art forgery?
Experts and institutions may also be reluctant to admit their own fallibility. Art historian Thomas Hoving estimates that various types of forged art comprise up to 40% of the art market, though others find this estimate to be absurdly high.
Where are all the Vermeer paintings?
The Metropolitan Museum of...New YorkRijksmuse...AmsterdamNational Gallery of ArtWashington, D.C.MauritshuisThe HagueThe Frick CollectionNew YorkThe National GalleryLondonJohannes Vermeer/On view
What Is The Girl With the Pearl Earring worth?
On the collector's death in 1902 it was donated to the Mauritshuis in The Hague, where it has hung ever since. Now, of course, it is priceless; the Mauritshuis would never sell it. In fact the last Vermeer to be publicly sold – in 2004 – went for $30 million, and it is nowhere near as good as Girl with a Pearl Earring.
When was the last Vermeer sold?
The last Vermeer to appear at auction was ''The Little Street'' (1658-1660), which was included in a sale in Amsterdam in 1921. It failed to sell and was later bought by a collector who donated it to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Are there any Vermeer paintings in the USA?
Of the thirty-six paintings attributed to Vermeer, twelve reside in American public collections. (This excludes The Concert, formerly in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, but stolen in 1990.)
Why is Johannes Vermeer so famous?
Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch artist known especially for his paintings of 17th-century daily life. The 36 or so of his paintings that survive show...
What is Johannes Vermeer famous for?
Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665) is probably Johannes Vermeer’s most famous work, but he is also known for his genre paintings. His subjects are...
How was Johannes Vermeer educated?
Surprisingly little is known about Vermeer’s decision to become a painter. He registered as a master painter in the Delft Guild of Saint Luke on De...
What was Johannes Vermeer’s family like?
Johannes Vermeer was born to Reynier Jansz, who was a weaver producing a fine satin fabric called caffa and was also an art dealer. The family was...
How did Johannes Vermeer die?
Johannes Vermeer’s finances suffered from the economic downturn following the invasion of Holland by France in 1672. He was heavily in debt when he...
How many paintings did Vermeer paint?
Vermeer was a modestly successful painter in his lifetime, yet only 34 paintings are attributed to him today (a few more are under question), signifying the artist's semi-lackadaisical handling of his career, which would eventually leave him and his family in debt and despair.
What is the meaning of Vermeer's art?
"The art of a Vermeer...seeks not to amaze and appal but to invite the observer to come closer, to close with the painting, peer into it, become intimate with it. Such art reinforces human dignity"
What were Vermeer's accomplishments?
Vermeer specialized in scenes of domestic life, a genre he helped catapult within the Baroque lexicon. Many of his paintings contain the same furnishings or motifs that inhabited his own private studio, and his models were often women that he knew or relatives of patrons.
Where was Johannes Vermeer born?
Biography of Johannes Vermeer. Johannes Vermeer was born the in the mercantile Dutch town of Delft in October 1632 to a lower-middle-class family. His father Reijnier Jansz was a hardworking cloth weaver turned innkeeper, and then art dealer.
What was Vermeer's career devoted to?
Vermeer's career was devoted to exploring tender moments of everyday life, documenting the private interior spaces of both mind and environment that epitomized the age of Baroque genre works.
Who is Vermeer's mother in law?
1622) which was, in fact, owned by Vermeer's mother-in-law Maria Thins and displayed in their shared house.
Who was Vermeer's wife?
It has been suggested that Vermeer's wife, Catherina, posed for this and many of his other paintings. Certainly the delicacy and care with which he has painted her face would reinforce this notion. It has also been conjectured that this is one of the first paintings Vermeer produced with the help of a camera obscura.
When did Vermeer become a painter?
Surprisingly little is known about Vermeer’s decision to become a painter. He registered as a master painter in the Delft Guild of Saint Luke on December 29, 1653, but the identity of his master (s), the nature of his training, and the period of his apprenticeship remain a mystery.
What is the name of the painting that Johannes Vermeer painted?
Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665) is probably Johannes Vermeer’s most famous work, but he is also known for his genre paintings. His subjects are often women in interior scenes completing chores, as in The Milkmaid (c. 1660), or engaged in private moments, as in Woman Reading a Letter (c. 1663).
What is Vermeer famous for?
These works are remarkable for their purity of light and form, qualities that convey a serene, timeless sense of dignity.
Where was Vermeer born?
Delft, where Vermeer was born and spent his artistic career, was an active and prosperous place in the mid-17th century, its wealth based on its thriving delftware factories, tapestry-weaving ateliers, and breweries. Within Delft’ s city walls were picturesque canals and a large market square, which was flanked by the imposing town hall and the soaring steeple of the Nieuwe Kerk (“New Church”). It was also a venerable city with a long and distinguished past. Delft ’s strong fortifications, city walls, and medieval gates had furnished defense for more than three centuries and, during the Dutch revolt against Spanish control, had provided refuge for William I, prince of Orange, from 1572 until his death in 1584.
Why did Johannes Vermeer die?
Johannes Vermeer’s finances suffered from the economic downturn following the invasion of Holland by France in 1672. He was heavily in debt when he died suddenly, possibly from a short illness, three years later, leaving his wife and children in poverty. His wife believed stress had ruined his health.
Where was Vermeer baptized?
Vermeer was baptized in the Nieuwe Kerk. His father, Reynier Jansz, was a weaver who produced a fine satin fabric called caffa; he was also active as an art dealer. By 1641 the family was sufficiently prosperous to purchase a large house containing an inn, called the Mechelen, on the market square.
Who was Vermeer married to?
In April 1653 Vermeer married Catherina Bolnes, a young Catholic woman from the so-called Papenhoek, or Papist’s Corner, of Delft. This union led him to convert from the Protestant faith, in which he was raised, to Catholicism.
What is the significance of the mask on the table?
The mask which appears on the table is traditionally used as a symbol of imitation and thus of painting.
What is the parallel between Velázquez's milkmaid and Vermeer's Milkmaid
Velázquez's tactile renderings of eggs beginning to congeal and water condensing on ceramic jars have striking parallels in Vermeer's The Milkmaid, both in the description of stuffs and in the temporal freezing implied by moving liquids. Like Vermeer, Velázquez's art matured from these early, dazzling displays of virtuosity expended on ...
What is Vermeer's most explicit statement on his art?
The Art of Painting is Vermeer's most explicit statement on his art, and it is characteristic of his art that it cannot be fully described or experienced through iconographic decoding. My discussion (see "Vermeer and the Interior Imagination.".
Why is Clio's youth important?
Clio's youth is crucial to her effectiveness as the generator of art. In the Netherlandish tradition art had long been conceived as the product of a love affair between the painter and his muse and ultimately Platonic notion that Vermeer's contemporaries tended to cast with sly innuendo.
Who succeeded Bramer in the guild?
Bramer was one of the officers of the guild in 1661, but in the following year he was succeeded by Vermeer , who was re-elected in 1663 (and served on the board again in 1670 and 1671). The new quarters of the guild must have been still unfinished when Vermeer took office in 1662.
Did Vermeer sell the art of painting?
Vermeer appears to have cared enough about The Art of Painting not to sell it. One cannot imagine that Van Ruijven would have turned it down. After Vermeer's death, his wife and mother-in-law tried to protect this one painting from the creditors of his estate, unsuccessfully. The Art of Painting is Vermeer's most explicit statement on his art, ...
Where was the art of painting transferred to?
The Art of Painting was transferred to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in 1946. from: Martin Bailey, Vermeer, London, 1995.
Why did Vermeer's paintings speak to him?
But the paintings show that Vermeer’s visual language was not a byproduct of the camera obscura’s visual qualities: those qualities spoke to him because they suited his already-established way of painting.
What type of paint did Vermeer use?
Vermeer frequently started his paintings with a monochrome painted sketch. In Woman Holding a Balance (fig. 1) he used brown oil paint to plan out his composition on the buff-colored ground layer that prepared his canvas. He defined the composition with painted lines, but this painted sketch was not simply an outline.
What color is Vermeer's jacket?
The tension between these warm brownish shadows and the cool-toned jacket, painted with ultramarine blue, is an essential part of Vermeer’s distinctive color harmony. In a similar way he exploited a dark underlayer in the white kerchief that frames the chin of the Girl in the Red Hat.
What is Vermeer's technique?
Painting light: Vermeer's technique transformed reality. Dr Melanie Gifford explores how Vermeer translated light effects into paint. Johannes Vermeer’s remarkable paintings evoked light with subtle effects that speak to our visual experience, creating a sense of physical immediacy.
Who painted the woman holding a balance?
An unfinished painting by the Le Nain brothers shows such a painted sketch. (fig. 1) Woman Holding a Balance by Johannes Vermeer (From the collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC) Because Vermeer’s sketched lines are delicate, they are usually hidden below his final paint.
What color was Vermeer's paint?
Unlike most Dutch painters Vermeer made lavish use of the coloring substance called natural ultramarine, the most brilliant and revered blue available to painters. Ultramarine paint was made by crushing the semi-precious stone called lapis lazuli to a fine powder and mixing it with walnut oil to form a sticky paste.
Why did Vermeer's widow leave him?
Vermeer's fortunes abandoned him in the final years of his life. In a plea to her creditors, Vermeer's widow testified that owing to “the ruinous war with Franc e he not only was unable to sell any of his art but also, to his great detriment, was left sitting with the paintings of other masters that he was dealing in.
How far has Vermeer traveled?
His pictures have traveled over a million kilometers , A Lady Writing alone has tallied 250,000 kilometers, about five times the circumference of the earth or half the distance to the moon. Vermeer's own life was different.
What is the most important instrument in painting?
The most important instrument was a simple optical device called the camera obscura . The camera is a box fitted with a lens that projects the image of what the painter intends to paint onto a transparent screen, a sheet of paper, or a canvas.
Who was Vermeer married to?
At the age of 21, Vermeer married Catharina Bolnes, who had moved to Delft from nearby Gouda with her mother Maria Thins. Maria was a well-to-do, deeply devoted Catholic, who evidently thought that the young painter was an acceptable match for her daughter – provided he converted to Catholicism.
Who painted the officer and laughing girl?
Officer and Laughing Girl Officer and Laughing Girl (ca. 1657) by Johannes Vermeer The Frick Collection. Pieter van Ruijven was a patron. Unlike the overwhelming number of Dutch painters who toiled ceaselessly to make ends meet amidst the competitive art market, Vermeer was an exception.
When was the girl with pearl earrings sold?
Mauritshuis. Girl with a Pearl Earring was sold for barely anything. Vermeer's most iconic painting was purchased in 1881 for next to nothing. In that year it was offered for sale at an auction house in The Hague as a part of the art collection of a certain Mr. Braams.
How is Vermeer pronounced?
In Dutch, Vermeer is pronounced [vərˈmeːr], and Johannes Vermeer as [joːˈɦɑnəs fərˈmeːr], with the /v/ changed to an [f] -sound by the preceding voiceless /s/. The usual English pronunciation is / vɜːrˈmɪər / vur-MEER. An attempt to closer approximate the Dutch with / vɜːrˈmɛər / vur-MAIR is also heard.
What colors did Vermeer use?
Vermeer may have first executed his paintings tonally like most painters of his time, using either monochrome shades of grey (" grisaille ") or a limited palette of browns and greys ("dead coloring"), over which he would apply more saturated colors (reds, yellows and blues) in the form of transparent glazes.
What guild did Vermeer belong to?
On 29 December 1653, Vermeer became a member of the Guild of Saint Luke, a trade association for painters. The guild's records make clear that Vermeer did not pay the usual admission fee. It was a year of plague, war, and economic crisis; Vermeer was not alone in experiencing difficult financial circumstances.
What color did Vermeer use in Woman Holding a Balance?
One aspect of his meticulous painting technique was Vermeer's choice of pigments. He is best known for his frequent use of the very expensive ultramarine ( The Milkmaid ), and also lead-tin-yellow ( A Lady Writing a Letter ), madder lake ( Christ in the House of Martha and Mary ), and vermilion. He also painted with ochres, bone black and azurite. The claim that he utilized Indian yellow in Woman Holding a Balance has been disproven by later pigment analysis.
How many children did Johan Vermeer have?
His wife gave birth to 15 children, four of whom were buried before being baptized, but were registered as "child of Johan Vermeer". The names of 10 of Vermeer's children are known from wills written by relatives: Maertge, Elisabeth, Cornelia, Aleydis, Beatrix, Johannes, Gertruyd, Franciscus, Catharina, and Ignatius.
Where did Vermeer live?
Relatively little was known about Vermeer's life until recently. He seems to have been devoted exclusively to his art, living out his life in the city of Delft. Until the 19th century, the only sources of information were some registers, a few official documents, and comments by other artists; for this reason, Thoré-Bürger named him "The Sphinx of Delft". John Michael Montias added details on the family from the city archives of Delft in his Artists and Artisans in Delft: A Socio-Economic Study of the Seventeenth Century (1982).
When was Vermeer elected head of the guild?
In 1662, Vermeer was elected head of the guild and was reelected in 1663, 1670, and 1671, evidence that he (like Bramer) was considered an established craftsman among his peers. Vermeer worked slowly, probably producing three paintings a year on order.
How many Vermeer paintings are there?
Vermeer's paintings of the 1660s are generally more popular than his work from the 1670s: in the eyes of some, his later work is colder. Today, 34 paintings are firmly attributed to him, with question marks over a further three. This compares to the 74 pictures attributed to him by Thoré-Bürger in 1866. Vermeer's reputation increased greatly ...
Why is Vermeer so famous?
This is partly because he has been one of the most widely forged artists, and many forgeries have now been identified. No drawings or preparatory paintings are known.
What is the Golden Age of Johannes Vermeer?
The following is a list of paintings by the Dutch Golden Age pa inter Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675). After two or three early history paintings, he concentrated almost entirely on genre works, typically interiors with one or two figures. His popularity is due less to his subject matter than to the poetic manner in which he portrays his subjects. Vermeer's paintings of the 1660s are generally more popular than his work from the 1670s: in the eyes of some, his later work is colder.
Did Vermeer paint a self portrait?
Historical documents such as auction records suggest that Vermeer painted a number of other works, now presumably destroyed, lost to public view, or possibly wrongly attributed to other artists. While a list of these lost Vermeers must necessarily be tentative, it may include: a self-portrait .
Who painted the girl in a turban?
Paintings by Johannes Vermeer. also known as Girl In A Turban, Head Of Girl In A Turban, The Young Girl With Turban, and Head of a Young Girl.
Is Vermeer a preparatory painting?
No drawings or preparatory paintings are known. Many Vermeer paintings are known by various names, and alternative names are noted below. Years of creation are only estimates for most of the paintings, and sources often give different, though not widely divergent, estimates.
What is the name of the painting with the pearl earring?
Photo: “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” c.1665. Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain) Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of the most recognizable and celebrated paintings in the world. Much like Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, the painting is shrouded in mystery.
Why did Vermeer use camera obscura?
Some historians believe Vermeer used camera obscura to help him create perspective in his painting. The “photographic perspective” was noted by artist Joseph Pennell in 1891. He suggested that despite the two figures sitting closely together, the officer is twice the size of the girl.
What is the Procuress painting?
Different from his earlier biblical works, The Procuress is believed to depict a scene from a brothel. It features a woman in pale yellow, surrounded by two men and a “nun” figure in black.
How many paintings did Vermeer paint?
Vermeer was a relatively successful painter during his lifetime, yet only 34 paintings are officially attributed to him today.
Why is Vermeer called the Master of Light?
He was dubbed the “Master of Light” due to the way he perfectly painted how natural light danced on the skin, fabrics, and other objects.
Why are pearls considered a symbol of virginity?
At the time, pearls were seen as a symbol of virginity as well as wealth, so some critics have interpreted the pearls as the symbol for a lover or a husband. Her rounded stomach suggests that she is pregnant, however, some historians believe that her large form is simply due to the clothing she’s wearing.
What did Vermeer's painting represent?
Some historians believe the painting represents the conflict between Protestants and Catholics that occurred within Vermeer's own country during the time as well as within himself.
