Vermeer’s influence on the 21st century

In my last post, I talked about how Vermeer had influenced modern arts and, more concretely, poetry. The 21st century has been no less influenced by his genius, and, after having gathered a few bookmarks on Vermeer, I realized that a few of them had the same in common: Vermeer’s influence on the 21st century. In this post, I will attempt to show you how this artist is present in a vast number of different fields such as cinematography, Apple Inc., advertising or skateboarding.

One of Vermeer’s most appraised works,A Girl Interrupted at her Music (which is precisely the painting I am working on)  inspired the title of Susanna Kaysen’s novel: Girl, Interrupted. The former was made into a film in 1999 starring Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie and Brittany Murphy. The film is based on writer Susanna Kaysen’s account of her 18-month stay at a mental hospital in the 1960s. It scored an Oscar and a Golden Globe.  I will leave you the trailer of the film down below in case you are interested in watching the film. It summarizes the plot very well and it provides you with extra information:

 

 

The technology giant Apple Inc. has also been captivated by Vermeer’s immense art production. They have come up with an Application or App. called ‘Johannes Vermeer Art Gallery’  which brings his artworks to your mobile device through two galleries. Actually, it is also suitable for Ipod and Ipad and it can be downloaded fom their official Itunes Store for only $0.99.  Here’s a screenshot of what you would find:

 

 

The third field I want to pinpoint is advertising. Jan Vermeer’s has also reached this world and  inspired Nestlé’s well-known product range La Lechera. I have included one of the commercials which is currently on TV for you to compare Vermeer’s The Milkmaid with the flesh and bone milkmaid that Nestlé’s has devised:

 

 

Last but not least, I stumbled upon a company devoted to personalize anything with anything. One of the most interesting products they offer is ‘patinetas Vermeer’, where you can personalize your skateboard with any of Vermeer’s pictorial works for an affordable price. Here’s an image of my favourite one:

 

I could include many more examples and cases of Vermeer’s influence on fields that belong to our everyday life such as TV shows or more films (i.e. The Girl with the Pear Earring). Nonetheless, I will conclude by saying that, as far as I am concerned, his art will never grow old since its imagery and technique are so powerful that it will still influence many generations to come.

References:

• Girl, Interrupted (1999). In Imdb, the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 16:44, February 2011, from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0172493/
• Girl, Interrupted (1999). In Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 17:28, February 2011, from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl,_Interrupted_(film)
• Johannes Vermeer Virtual Art Gallery (2009). In Itunes Store. Retrieved 19:46, February 2011,from: http://itunes.apple.com/co/app/johannes-vermeer-virtual-art/id330543535?mt=8
• Patinetas Vermeer. In Zazzle. Retrieved 13:22, March 2011, from: http://www.zazzle.es/johannes+vermeer+patinetas
• Yogures La Lechera (2011). In Youtube, Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved 16:57, February 2011, from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvQSGjJb8Cg
• Girl, Interrupted (2009). In Youtube, Broadcast Yourself. Retrieved 20:52, February 2011, from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4-GD1VqdOA

Johannes Vermeer & Modern Poetry

For all of us who have been working on Johannes Vermeer and constantly retrieving information on his life, background and artpieces, it is not  new that his influence still pervades on modern arts. While looking around the net in search for precisely that, his influence in modern arts, I stumbled upon this poem written by Ira Sadoff and published in the renowned The Virginia Quarterly Review: A National Journal of Literature and Discussion, and which I already shared with you on Facebook and Delicious, yet I thought it would be adequate to post it on our blog as well since it inspired me when trying to write my story on the painting I chose: A Girl Interrupted at her Music. Here it is, enjoy:

When her mother entered the room, he did not
look up. The young girl’s pale skin turned
white as the shawl she wore. He was pointing
to a figuration of counterpoint, or so
he said. But there was something in the room
of the body giving off light, light was moving
toward the window instead of from its source.
And though his hand still clutched the back
of her chair, the mandolin was covered by sheets
of music, the glass of wine had not been
touched. Though the air in the room seemed
lighter by the old woman’s leaving, nothing
so heavy as speech would be uttered between them,
for there were still lessons to be learned,
what was to be played would soon be played out.

References:

• Ira Sadoff (1976). In ‘The Virginia Quarterly Review’ (pages 112-113). Retrieved 17:38, February 2011, from: http://www.vqronline.org/articles/1976/winter/sadoff-vermeer-girl-interrupted/

A Girl Interrupted at her Music: ‘It’s all about the details’

One of the unique features of Dutch painting is its interest in creating realistic scenes of everyday life which, paradoxically, contain symbolic content indicating that there is more to the picture than what meets the eye. Right now, I would like to analyze what I consider to be the most outstanding elements or details of this painting. 

In order to do that, I have signalled in this picture, all the specific details that I will be considering.

First of all, we have a leaned, multi-paned window. I have included a modern drawing of that those windows were supposed to look like. The design was a complex pattern of interlocking squares. Although the window is almost invisible at first sight, it is, along with these black and white marble floorings, one of the most characteristic features of Vermeer’s interiors.

Secondly, we can observe a birdcage on the side wall. Conservators claim that the birdcage is an addition by a later hand since it is more freshly painted than the rest of the elements and, what is more, it was not part of Vermeer’s original design. Birdcages were a popular feature in Dutch painting and had various symbolic meanings such as the inprisonment of love. In my opinion, this later hand might be giving us a clue of what is happening between these two people.

In this painting, Vermeer included three examples of Spanish chairs. They were elements that belonged to the well-furnished houses of the well-to-do Dutch that I mentiones in my last article. In this picture, we can see one of the Spanish chairs in much more detail and we can also observe the carved detailing:

The thin-necked vaseis most likely a wine jug made in Delft, which was one of the principal centers of porcelain production in the Netherlands. They were trying to make imitations of Chinese porcelain with little success; however, they succeeded in making thin, light earthenware decorated in blue in the Chinese style, and they succeeded so much that their products were even exported to China. Also, in its heyday, more than thirty potteries operated in Delft.

The Cupid painting in the back wall might be there in order to reinforce the idea of amorous courtship. Vermeer experts point out that the Cupid might indicate that love is in the air; however, the painting inside out painting is in such a bad state that is it almost impossible to decipher the true story behind the Cupid painting. Nonetheless, there are several theories going around, and one of them assures that the hanging painting corresponds to this one that I am enclosing, although, of course, this is just conjecture:

The wine glass is depicted in such discretion that it could easily go unnoticed. However, it was introduced in order to enhance the theme of seduction. In fact, wine-drinking and music-making, both overlapping sujects in Vermeer’s interior designs were associated in the 17th century with love. Manners books established that wine should be drunk in two or three times. Here, the glass of wine stands untouched as if to underline the efforts on both parts (the cavalier and the lady) to maintain composure.

Another feature to take into consideration is the girl’s red garment. This element is perhaps the one that has suffered the most through agressive restorations, and nowadays looks flattened and without much substance. Most likely, Vermeer employed the technique called ‘glazing’ to achieve its cherry-red colour. Also, the type of headgear worn by the young woman (the linen cap) was partly ornamental and served to protect the hairdo before and after dressing. The Low Countries had been famous for cloth manufracture since the Middle Ages. It remained the most important part of the Dutch industrial economy.

The cavalier bends over the young lady and puts the music sheet in her hands. Although his eyes are lowered, experts say that his amorous purposes are apparent. Vermeer might have drawn inspiration from paintings such as Teasing the Pet by Frans Van Mieris even though Vermeer reworked the whole body language and facial expressions so as to show a much more restraint atmosphere. The similarities and diferences between the two paintings can be observed in the following pictures:

The last ‘detail’ I want to point out is looking out of the picture. In order to explain my point, I would like to quote Arthur Wheelock, a Vermeer expert:

Most Dutch genre painters included scenes with specific actions. However, Vermeer’s attempts at depicting movement or activities such as laughing and drinking resulted in artificial poses. In this painting, Vermeer arrived at the solution for this problem: the momentary interruption. This device allowed him to suggest movement without the need for specific gestures or facial expressions. She, rather than concentrating on the music they hold, looks out at the viewer.

Alberti, who invented linear perspective, suggested that artists might include a ‘commentator’ to guide the viewer of the painting through the painting  and to tell him exactly where to look. This sort of ‘insider’, who straddles two worlds (inside and outside the painting) is simultaneously in the work but not in the work. These pictorial commentators were a common motif in Dutch paintings. This can be appreciated in Van Baburen’s Loose Company, a contemporary of Vermeer (on the left). The young lady who looks out of the picture in A Girl Interrupted at her Music seems to have more on her mind than the protagonists of Loose Company. Her gaze is far more enigmatic than that of her smiling counterpart in The Girl with a Wine Glass (on the right), also by Vermeer.

Our lady seems unwilling or unable to tell us something and, in my opinion, her story cannot be fully understood. Nevertheless, the elements that I attempted to explain and analyze in this article might give us a clue of what is going on in this painting.
Ariane Sande

References:

• Topics and facts about the painting. (2010,2011). In Essential Vermeer. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from:  http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/girl_interrupted_in_her_music.html.
• Understanding A Girl Interrupted at her Music. (2010, 2011). In Essential Vermeer. Retrieved February 19, 2011 from: http://www.essentialvermeer.com/cat_about/interrupted.html.
• “La lección de música interrumpida”. (October, 2009). In Museo del Arte. Retrieved February 26, 2011, from: http://museodelarte.blogspot.com/2009/10/la-leccion-de-musica-interrumpida-girl.html.
• WHEELOCK, Arthur J. Johannes Vermeer, 1995. Yale University Press. Retrieved March 2, 2011, from: http://www.essentialvermeer.com/cat_about/interrupted.html

A Girl Interrupted at her Music: Understanding the painting

As I mentioned in my last post, my new article will deal with the background against which A Girl Interrupted at her Music was created.  First of all, I would like to consider the issue of courtship.  Courtship was a very popular motif and Vermeer made use of it in several occasions. However, the facial expressions of the protagonists do not give us a clue of what they are thinking or feeling. Therefore, we have to draw our own conclusions.  Is this a scene depicting a scene of amorous courtship? Is this merely a music lesson?

The well-to-do Dutch had very well-furnished houses. Many included elements such as carved furniture, glassware, exotic carpets or porcelain. All of these elements can be observed in our painting, and that  conveys the idea that the lady and the cavalier belong to the haute bourgeoisie of the times. Englishmen used to say that the furniture was so clean and in good order that Dutch houses appeared to be designed for an exhibition rather than for a living space. The concept of the Dutch room will be referenced back when analyzing the painting in upcoming articles.

In the 17th century, the association between music and love was a metaphor for an amorous relationship. In fact, music-making  was one of the activities which permitted young people to freely associate with each other without the presence of parents or older guardians. On the table, there lies a cittern, one of the most popular instruments of the 17th century and also one of the most frequenly depicted by Vermeer. A cittern sounds a bit like the virginal and it was used for accompanying the singing voice or for dancing music. The people Vermeer chose to represent would have ideally belonged to the haute bourgeoisie, who normally collected songbooks, one of which can be observed on the table. Songbooks played an important role in modern courtship. For instance, young musicians had a vast choice of foreign and local songbooks, which were called liedboeken or collections of love songs. These books frequently reflected the local culture containing references to favourite meeting places for lovers, taverns and so on and so forth.

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Until the 1630s, outdoor garden parties where young men and women caroused playfully had been a very popular motif. This can be observed in The Garden Party by Jan Steen, a contemporary of Vermeer. However, the key innovator, Willem Buytewech lost interest in this successful garden motif and decided to bring people indoors. He depicted the haute bourgeoisie as surrounded by luxury furnishings and decorative items such as wall maps. This is the trend that Vermeer will follow in order to create his famous interiors.

The last topic I would like to point out, is the fact that Vermeer inspires himself. A Girl Interrupted at her Music shares much with The Glass of Wine: both portray a gentleman attending a young lady in a moment of courtship, and the position of the couple is more or less the same.

Apart from getting inspiration from his own work, Vermeer also inspired his famous artpieces on painters such as Van Mieris or Metsu, also his contemporaries, and who also depicted scenes of courtship.

Now that we know a little more about the background that surrounded Vermeer and his creations, I will move on to consider, in my next article, the most outstanding elements or details found in A Girl Interrupted at her Music.

Ariane Sande

References:

• Understanding A Girl Interrupted at her Music. (2010,2011). In Essential Vermeer. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from:  http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/girl_interrupted_in_her_music.html.

Virginal´s Symbolism

As we have seen in the different presentations that we have done with Claire Firth in class, there so many paintings in which we can se the music instrument called a virginal. However, Vermeer´s intention was not just to introduce this element just to suggest the idea of music, but also to emphasize some other ideas that are hidden behind the use of this element. So, that is what I will try to explain in this article, the importance of the virginal and its symbolism in the picture that I am working on, The Music Lesson.

At the very begining of the 17th century, the virginal was an instrument greatly admired by the Dutch rich people . The Iyrical tones that resonated from its keyboard underscored the refinement that accompanied the increase of wealth and influence enjoyed by this society. The music and the lyrics written for the virginal, were much about human and spiritual love: the lyrics that often accompanied the music extolled love, and the solace that could be gained from it. The sentiments the music expressed and the role they played within the upper echelons of Dutch society frequently were inscribed on the instruments themselves. The text on the lid of the virginal in The Music Lesson reads: “Mvsica letitiae co[me]s medicina dolor[vm]” (Music: companion of joy, balm for sorrow):

Of the many paintings from the period  the virginal, none captures as well as Vermeer’s the balance and harmony of its music or the elegance and refinement of the world to which it belonged. Every object in Vermeer’s  interiors is  carefully identified as the notes in a song by Huygens.

Description of the instrument:

 The virginal is like a large wardrobe with elaborately painted decorative elements covering its various surfaces mark it as one of Vermeer´s finest productions. That Vermeer gave such prominence to the virginal and that a family expended the vast sum that such an outstanding instrument would indicate the importance of this instrument in Dutch society.

To judge from the number of depictions of maidens seated or standing at such instruments from the 1650s and 1660s by Frans van Mieris, Jan Steen, Gerard ter Borch, Gerard Dou, Gabriel Metsu, and Vermeer, a young woman’s proficiency in this art was greatly esteemed in Vermeer´s times.Not only that, but  a music teacher was often retained to instruct the young woman. Once having mastered the art she would perform, proficiency at the virginal,  also served a social function, for it facilitated polite contact between men and women.

Artists were fascinated with the nature of that contact, and exploited the theme of the music lesson or concert as a vehicle for depicting the sensuality as well as the social acceptability of a woman playing such an instrument. Sometimes, as in Jan Steen’s Harpsichord Lesson in the Wallace Collection, the music master’s attentions to the attractive pupil are seen as lecherous, but usually a spirit of sensual harmony pervades the scene that is not out of keeping with the elevated ideals inscribed on the instruments.In Steen’s Music Master, c. 1659, for example, the man’s attentive attitude conveys an ease and familiarity with the woman, yet nothing in his demeanor or in her upright posture suggests that they are disrespectful of the elevated sentiments plainly visible on the cover of the harpsichord: “Soli Deo Gloria.” Indeed, rather than a music master, it seems more probable that the man is a suitor who, moved by the woman’s beauty and that of her music, feels in perfect harmony with his beloved.

A comparable feeling of harmony pervades Vermeer’s Girl Interrupted at Her Music from the early 1660s, where an attentive gentleman assists a young woman with her sheet music. A painting of Cupid on the wall affirms that there is a feeling of love between them. Similarly, the man who is in The Music Lesson is almost certainly not a music master, and his presence must be  explained in another way: He is an aristocratic gentleman, perhaps a cavalier, dressed in a  black costume that is accented by a white collar.

Music was  used as a metaphore that suggested the harmony of  these souls in love and  the presence of the bass viol on the floor in Vermeer’s Music Lesson may serve a similar thematic function. As Cats explained in his text:

 ”the emblem “Qvid Non Sentit Amor” means that the resonances of one lute echo onto the other just as two hearts can exist in total harmony even if they are separated”.

As a conclusion I have decide to include this video in which a piece of music written for a virginal is reconstructed:

Sources:

-Artchive: An excerpt from the excellent book “Vermeer & the Art of Painting”, by Arthur K. and Wheelock, Jr.Retrieved on April 21, 2011 from http://www.artchive.com/vermeer/vermeer2.html

- Youtube: Jan Vermeer at work while listening to virginal music. Retrieved on April 21, 2011 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1n1JQlaWcA]

The Music Lesson: Technical details about the painting

 

The Music Lesson has been estimated to be painted between 1662 and 1665. the medium of the work is oil on canvas and the painting measures 74.6 x 64.1 centimeters. Not only that, but the painting that I have chosen could be found in the Royal Collection. However, what is the Royal Collection?

Well, the Royal Collection is the name given to the amount of literary works, maps, books and textiles that are held by the Queen of England as sovereign for her sucessors and the Nation. Today, this collection is located in St James Palace in London, so that is where we can see nowadays the painting that I am analyzing .

Now, I am going to proceed to discuss the most important elementsthat  we find in this picture and to explain their meaning. To do that, I will try to follow an strategic order: I will start from the left of the painting exposing the importance of light in Vermeer´s paintings and explaining why did the author decided to use a marble floor and not another one. Then, I will focus on the main scene of the painting, that is, the girl playing the virginal and the gentleman looking at her, and finally,  I will explain the importance that the picture that appears in the upper right side as well as the reasons for which Vermeer decided to include a white jar and a table covered by a wonderful carpet.

Begining with the analysis of the windows, it is important to say how The Music Lesson is the only painting with two series of windows in Vermeer´s collection. Not only thay, but when looking at th we notice that they are big windows, an that was something very characteristic of Dutch buildings, because this kind of window allowed to be too muc light in the room. So, in this case, the windows are used to illuminate the whole scene. Another important thing is that there are not curtains, and that is very strange because in Vermeer´s times, curtains were hung to maintain a sense of privacy and silent dialogue inside the room, but this is not the case. The action is open to the audience.

Paying attention now to the floor, it is important to pointout how it is made by marble. Marble was considered to be a luxurious feature destined only to the very rich people, so, and as some art specialists have said,Vermeer had probably visited some luxurious places, such as the local Deft Town Hall or the palace in Rijswijk, in order to use this type of floor on his paintings.

Turning now to the main scene of the painting, it is important to talk about the virginal: it is a keyboard instrument that when it is closed it looks like a long wardrobe but when it is opened the visual effect that it creates is very striking because of the beauty of the printed papers that decorate all the front of the instrument. Besides, in this case, the virginal is decorated by flowers and sea horses, and it is very original because any patron of this motive has been found yet.

If we pay attention to the girl we see how her hands are hidden from the audience which means that the painter wanted to emphasize less the specific of the woman and her music that the abstract concepts that her music embodies, such as harmony, joy or pleasure. However, and if we focus on the man, we can see how his position is completely different: his pose marks the authority that he has on the girl and his mouth is opened, which indicates that he was probably singing. Not only that, but there has been too much controversy about the role played by this gentleman because as the examination of X-rays has proved, the initial position of the gentleman was closer to the girl, creating an stronger bond between both figures:

The same happened with the viola: it was supposed to be added later on for iconographic motives. Besides, this music instrument is a constant symbol used in Vermeer´s paintings. However, the way in which it is represented is in a passive way, like waiting someone to play it.

Talking now about the picture that appears on the right of the painting, it is important to say how some specialists have identified it as the one painted by Matthias Stomes called Cimon and Pero. There is also a parallel between this picture and The Music Lesson, because  if paying attention to the figure of Cimon, we notice how he has chains on his hands. These chains symbolize the limitations of the man, so in the case of Vermeer´s painting it can be interpreted as that the gentleman that stands near the girl playing the virginal is limited just to hear the girl and not to play the music instrument. Not only that, but as it happened in the mythological story of Cimon and Pero, the man was seduced by the beauty of the woman ( his daugher), so there could be also a kind of parallel with The Music Lesson because as some critics think, the cavalier of Vermeer´s painting was in love with the girl.

Finally, and if we pay attention to the right side of the painting we notice the presence of two important elements: the jar and the table. The jar is white ad made of metal; it sis the characteristic model that Italian artists tried to create or develop during the 16th and the 17th centuries inItaly. It is very difficult to see them, but there are too many details on this jar,nd the same happens with the carpet that covers the table. Both elements are decorative elements of extreme luxury and that is because high class people were very much interested in appearances. It means that all these luxurious objects gave these people the opportunity to represent the higher classes of the society and in the same way to put them in the spotlight of the whole society.

As a conclusion, and bearing in mind all the things that have been mentioned before, I have to say that I decided to analyze this painting because although it represents a daily life action, to play music, there must be something hiden behind each of the elements that appears on it. Not only that, but the apparent simplicity of the panting has offered me the opportunity to think about many themes and possible topics for my final creative narrative.

Here you have some of the references that I have used:

-Class notes on Baroque art in Holland: J. Vermeer. Retrieved on April 21, 2011 from http://apuntesdeclasedearte.blogspot.com/2009/06/pintura-barroca-en-holanda-vermeer.html

-Observatorio: una obra de arte diaria. La lección de Música, 1662-1665. Retrieved on april 21, 2011 from  http://arte.observatorio.info/2007/12/la-leccion-de-musica-johannes-vermeer-1662/

-The Complete Interactive Vermeer Catalogue: The Music Lesson. Retrieved on April 21, 2011 from http://arte.observatorio.info/2007/12/la-leccion-de-musica-johannes-vermeer-1662/

“The Glass of Wine” Johaness Vermeer

Due to the fact that this will be my last article, I have thought that it might be better to leave the curiosities and best parts to the end. In this article I am going to talk to you about some interesting things I have found about my painting and I hope you enjoy them.

First of all I would like to tell you if you know how big the painting is. Why am I telling you this? Well, because when I began working on it, I thought that it was pretty big, however, it was not until later that I realized how small it is. You can see it below:

Johaness Vermeer- 17th century

You might now probably be thinking the same as me. How can it be so small? I think that this happens because usually we chack the online and they look bigger than what we think and when we realize how small they are, we think that it is impossible. The paintings size is: 65 x 77 cm.

Another curiosity is that when I first began working on “The Glass of Wine” I was not sure, whether I was doing the right painting, due to the fact that there is a very similar painting of Vermeer “The Girl with the Wine Glass”. You can see below that in fact, they look very similar:

Johaness Vermeer- 17th century

Johaness Vermeer- 17th century

As you can see, the name of the paintings is very similar and the tiled florr and the stained glass are both very similar. Important to meantion is the fact that wine appears in both paintings, as well as the same wine pitcher. We can see that although it is true that a third person has been introduced, the man is not wearing a hat, the woman does not have a headdress and we can see her face. Many of the characteristics remain similar: the window is open and as we have said in a previous article, this was a symbol of temperance; the wine, which was a forbidden pleasure and a painting hanging at the back of the wall.

Finally, I just want to insert a song related to the 17th period so that you can get an idea of what kind of music was listened and played.

\”The Lady Nevils Delight\”

To conclude, I just want to add that I hope you have get a wider overview about the painting of “The Glass of Wine” as well as about the period because sometimes, when we learn about an artist the period has an important influence. If you hve any doubts, just write some comments I am pleased to help you.

References:

• Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wine_Glass
• The complete interactive Vermeer Catalogue, http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/glass_of_wine.html
• The complete interactive Vermeer Catalogue, http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/music/10-GLASS-Lady%20Nevils%20Delight-smp.mp3

“The Glass of Wine” Johaness Vermeer

In the first part of the article, I have given you a brief introduction about the apinting and then we have analyzed the painting in more detail. In this second part, I will like to center in the painting technique used in “The Glass of wine” and I will also like to mention where did Vermeer take his inspiration from.

Johaness Vermeer- 17th century

The painting technique used is oil on canvas and it contains figures situated in a bright light and spacious interior. The figures are situated in the middle ground rather than in the foreground. It is important to understand that Vermeer was only 27 when he painted “The Glass of Wine” and it is considered one of Vermeer’s mature works. Therefore, although many scholars have stated that this is not one of Vermeer’s best painting, I think that when analyzing an artist, we should take all his works into consideration in order to make a conclusion. But we cannot forget that, as we change throughout the years, artists also change their technique and style.

But, did Vermeer come up with the idea of this painting or did he take it from a former artist? Well, it is said that Vermeer took the idea from the older master’s work “A Dutch Courtyard” 1657. Vermeer only took the idea of a woman drinking wine, as well as the figures drinking around a table. But the aims of both artists were completely different as we can see below:

Pieter de Hooch- 1657

Johaness Vermeer- 17th century

Taking into consideration both paintings, we could conclude that Vermeer’s work breaks away from the one of Pieter de Hooch. Vermeer has set his painting in an interior because from now on interiors are going to be where painters are going to center and they are going to leave the outdoor aside. Here Vermeer gives a far more elegant and higher-class setting than Pieter de Hooch. We can see that it is far more elegant due to the clothes of the figures, the patterned tablecloth and the stained window, which suggests a wealthier setting. However, we can see that the idea has been taken from the Hooch because the main idea remains similar.

Moreover, comparing this work to this earlier paintings, Vermeer’s brushwork in “The Glass of Wine” is subdued, although the clothes and faces of the figures are depicted with smooth outlines. More detail has been given to the tablecloth and to the window, where he has applied detailed linear brush strokes. As we have mentioned before, this was not considered Vermeer’s finest but as I have mentioned, when we want to get a whole idea about an artist, all his works must be considered in the same way.

To sum up, in this second part I have tried to give you a more technical analysis of the painting and as I have said in the previous article, the last article will be centered in some curiosities about the painting itself, together with other paintings.

References:

• Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wine_Glass
• The complete interactive Vermeer catalogue, http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/glass_of_wine.html

“The Glass of Wine” Johannes Vermeer

Johaness Vermeer- 17th century

The artist of the painting “The Glass of Wine” is Johaness Vermeer (1632-1675). He painted “The Glass of Wine” between 1658-1660. The painting is also known as “Lady and Gentleman drinking Wine” or in Dutch “Het Glas Wijn” and it portrays a seated woman and standing man in an interior setting. Nowadays, the painting can be found in the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. The work is typical of the genre painting (images of domestic life, views of households, courtyards…) of the Delft School developed by Pietr de Hooch around 1650. It is a painting of the Baroque style, which it is characterized by its great drama, deep color, intense light and dark shadows.

But what does the painting suggest? It is important to take into consideration that the predominant figure in Vermeer’s works is usually the female character. However, sometimes the male figure intrudes into a domestice scene. This painting as can bee seen, is set in a daylight burgeois room and there is a man encouraging a young woman to dring wine. Wine is in my opinion the central motif in Vermeer’s work due to the fact that it was a forbidden pleasure for women. If a woman was intoxicated on wine, it was considered as a kind of sin. Furthermore, alchool was the first steo towards whoring.

If we now have a thorough look at the painting, we can see that the lute laid aside and the scattered sheet of music add a sexual undertone offset by the couple’s heavy clothing. The emblem of the 27th century was “If music be the food of love” (taken from Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night”). However, as we can see, their bodies are hidden behind fabrics and folds. His body is covered with a cloak and as we can see, he has not taken his hat yet. Her body is covered under a heavy dress and she is also wearing a headdress. Moreover, as it can be noticed, there is no physical contact, the man is the only one looking at the lady but she cannot see him because of the headdress and the glass that she is holding as can be seen in the image below:

Johaness Vemeer- 17th century

As we have seen, there are characteristics that imply that the couple like each other, they feel a kind of desire, but at the same time, we can see that the heavy clothes mean that there is nothing between them. The open window is emblazoned with an emblem of temperance and it is important that we center in the window, because although it is open, there is not even a glimpse to the outside world. Scholars have suggested that the painting should be analized as a straightforward seduction.

To sum up, we have seen how one has to look carefully at the painting in order to be able to have a critical analysis of the painting, as there are many things related to sin, sex and temperance. In my opinion it is difficult to know whether the couple are attracted to each other or not because I think that their state of mind remais hidden and it is us, the ones who have to decide what kind of relation they have. Perhaps Vermeer wanted the viewer made their own conclusions as well as letting us being creative about it. If you want to learn more about the painting, I will write a second part about the painting technique, and finally, I will made a thir part with some curiosities that I have found.

References:

• Wikipedia,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wine_Glass
• The complete interactive Vermeer catalogue, http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/glass_of_wine.html

A Girl Interrupted at her Music: Introduction to the painting

The painting I have been analyzing and working on is entitled A Girl Interrupted at her Music. In this first article I will provide you with a first approach to one of Johannes Vermeer’s most enigmatic but damaged pictorial artpieces; a brief yet useful introduction if you are interested in this particular painting.

A Girl Interrupted at her Music was painted in the Dutch Baroque style, using oil on canvas, as most of Vermeer’s other artpieces. Some scholars agree that it was painted between the years 1658 and 1659, and some others agree that, on the contrary, it was painted between the years 1660 and 1661. Nowadays, A Girl Interrupted at her Music, although it is very damaged, is part of the Frick Collection of New York.

On the right-hand side you can admire how the picture looks like with its original frame, and on the left-hand side I attempted to show you how big the painting is. I must confess my surprise when I took a look for the first time at the actual dimensions of this Vermeer, since, I thought it was much larger than it really is.

Now that we know the necessary and most relevant data about this painting, in my next article I will focus on the background against which this painting was created. See you all soon.
References:

• First approach toA Girl Interrupted at her Music. (2010, December 18). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19:32, March 15, 2011, from:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girl_Interrupted_at_her_Music.
• Understanding A Girl Interrupted at her Music. (2010,2011). In Essential Vermeer. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from:  http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/girl_interrupted_in_her_music.html.

Ariane Sande

Woman with a water jug

Woman with a Water Jug, also known as Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, is a painting finished between 1660–1662 by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer in the Baroque style. It is oil on canvas, 45.7cm x 40.6 cm, and is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

This painting is one of a closely related group painted in the early to mid 1660s where the artist appears to be moving away from an emphasis on linear perspective and geometric order. He seems to be moving to a simpler form using only one figure and emphasizing the use of light.

The picture is taken from http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/young_woman_with_a_water_pitcher.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_with_a_Water_Jug

The Virtual Reconstruction of the picture

This virtual reconstruction of the Young Woman with a Water Pitcher provides a reasonable hypothesis of the artist’s original pictorial concept. The same map which appears today once occupied more of the background and reached behind the standing woman. Today, if one observes carefully, a barely perceptible shift in tone along the original left-hand edge of the map may be noted. Likewise, the silhouette of the back of a Spanish chair with lion-head finial has left an observable pentimento(NB: a pentimento is an alteration in a painting, evidenced by traces of previous work, showing that the artist has changed his mind as to the composition during the process of painting) underneath the young woman’s outstretched arm.

The changes in composition likely were made during an early phase of the painting procedure, called underpainting, before color and detail had been introduced even though the now-excluded chair seems to have been brought to a good degree of finish. In the simplest terms, an underpainting is a monochrome version (usually brown or neutral gray) in which the artist fixed the layout of the composition, created volume and distributed darks and lights in order to produce an overall effect of illumination. With a minimum of time a great part of the artist’s pictorial ideas could be envisioned. The parts of the painting which did not match the artist’s expectations could be corrected with relative ease.

The virtual reconstruction of this work is based on naked-eye observation and infrared reflectograms which reveal hidden levels of dark paint in the case they contain black pigment. The painting can be virtually reconstructed to an acceptable degree since we know the real dimensions of the two objects that Vermeer altered.

The final composition appears less cluttered and more focused on the central figure of the woman.

http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/young_woman_with_a_water_pitcher.html

Describing the details of the picture

The Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands
published by Huyck Allart (active c. 1650-1670)
1671

This wall map of the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands was published by the Dutch cartographer Huyck Allart. The only known example of Allart’s map, which bears the date of 1671, is preserved in the University Library, Leiden. The copper plates used to print the map (originated in the beginning of the century) were acquired from an earlier source. Although Allart’s map is identical in its geographical contents, a few decorative cartouches seen on Vermeer’s version were added to give it a new look.

Originally, Vermeer had placed the map directly behind the young girl. Its vertical edge ran down just to the left of the point where the young woman’s cap meets the shoulder covering.

No convincing iconographic interpretation has been given to the map even though it plays a fundamental role in the composition. Other than for scientific purposes, maps were widely used as a decorative element in Dutch homes and were published in great quantities.

This kind of hanging rod (called rollen) was depicted in countless times in Dutch genre interiors of the time. The weight of the lower hanging rod maintained the map flat and the curious spherical balls on each end kept it from rubbing against the damp wall. In simpler homes, they were simply attached with tacks. Maps were usually glued on cloth to give them more consistency.

In Vermeer’s picture, the hanging rod has a curious blue tone produced by the presence of natural ultramarine. Natural ultramarine, the most costly pigment of all, was used throughout this composition in an almost obsessive quantity, but it is not sure if Vermeer intended it dominate to such a degree or if the pigment has intensified over time. The position of the ball that nestles in the angle of the girl’s headdress was not casual. It appears in the same position in his Woman with a Lute (detail above) of the same period.

This window seems to be the same as the one represented in Vermeer’s earlier Music Lesson. The window frame hinges to the left which means that there is a second frame behind it even though one would imagine that the young girl is very near to the back wall.

Some observers have wished to see the young girl opening the window in order to water flowers outside, although it is unlikely that such a precious gilded-pitcher would have been considered appropriate for such a menial chore.

On close inspection it can be seen that the depiction of the glass was broken down into exquisitely shaped abstract patches of opaque paint forming a sort of mosaic of delicately balanced color. Blue ultramarine was used in this area extensively and has even be lightly layered over the lead molding which had been first defined in a neutral gray.

As Vermeer expert Walter Liedtke eloquently wrote: “the woman’s hands and forehead are rendered as if their anatomy were unknown, in the blurred shapes suggesting slight movement and the intensity of daylight. Compared with Vermeer’s other women of the 1660′s, she is somewhat inexpressive, which partially accounts for her universal appeal. She is an icon of domesticity, an intangible figure from a gentleman’s dream.”

A similar white cap to the one worn by the young woman in this painting was represented in four other paintings by Vermeer and in a countless number of Dutch genre paintings of the time both tied and open. It was partly ornamental and served to protect the hairdo before and after dressing. In the inventory of Vermeer’s wife, Catharina Bolnes, three such caps were listed “drye witte kappen” although it was also called a hooftdoek in Delft. It was typically made of white linen, sometimes of nettlecloth or cotton.

One of the most striking technical passages of this painting is the distinctly blue hue of the headdress’ shadows. Vermeer had already exploited this particular effect in his earlier Girl with the Wineglass. Painters of the time invariably used a straightforward mixture white tempered by black or black and umber to create the shadows of white objects and the introduction of the costly ultramarine blue is considered unique to Vermeer’s oeuvre. The headdress takes on freshness and radiance not to be seen until 200 years later when the French Impressionists began to experiment with a similar technique for rendering shadows with clean colors rather than neutral grays.

A similar yellow bodice with black braiding appears in other Vermeer’s including The Music Lesson (see detail left) and A Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window. A similar garment may also be worn by the old women sewing in the open doorway of the Little Street. Marieke de Winkel, Dutch costume expert, points out that this type of garment was usually worn in daily circumstances and that it was sometimes called a schort except in Leiden where it was referred to as a wacht. Only a few examples of these bodices have survived.

Although Vermeer was influenced deeply by the themes, compositions and illusionist qualities of the fijnschilders (fine painters) Gerrit Dou and Gerard ter Borch, it is surprising to see how loosely he applied paint in comparison to their truly microscopic renderings.

This gown, rendered with shades of natural ultramarine and black, is painted so broadly that neither the material nor the play of light on its folds can be made out. The artist seems most concerned with conveying the simplicity and purity of its reassuring, bell-like form. Both contours are subtly blended with the white background. In Vermeer’s single-figure paintings of the mid-1660s, detail is always subordinated to the exigencies unified whole and texture is suggested rather than described.

Spanish Chair
1st half 17th century
Purplewood, varnished black, oak and pine,
upholstered in green cloth
105 x 44,5 x 41,1 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Although only a small portion of the chair appears in this composition, it seems to be very similar to ones seen in his earlier works, Officer and Laughing Girl and Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. These so-called Spanish chairs probably derived their name from the use of leather instead of cloth as was common practice in Spain. They were so prized that their makers’ regarded themselves as a distinct and superior group within the craftsman guilds. Similar chairs can be seen countless times in genre interiors of Vermeer’s time.

The gilded pitcher and its basin constitute one of the most exquisite passages in the artist’s oeuvre. Its beauty and delicacy would seem to justify one critic who asserts that while Vermeer painted not a single still life, some of the world’s most beautiful still lives are contained within his interior compositions. The pitcher appears as if it had been materially decomposed and then recomposed with the liquid light of the painter’s palette.

Although viewers invariably are stunned by the apparent realism of the objects of the still life, the basin’s rim is not continuous as it passes behind the pitcher and it can be noted that the reflection of the rug’s underside does not correspond with the design of the rug itself. A radiographic reflectogram, which reveals hidden layers of paint, also shows that Vermeer had originally intended the basin to be wider and of a different shape.

The model for pitcher may have been owned by Vermeer’s mother-in-law Maria Thins. Vermeer expert John M. Montias believes that it was probably the one Maria gave to her daughter Catharina in one of her testaments. He argues that a gilded jug was such a rare and valuable object that it is doubtful there could have been another in the Thins household.

The ornate jewelry box and the bright blue cloth draped over the chair counter-balance the strongly centralized composition. A few pearls timidly peep out of the open box and a light blue ribbon gracefully falls forward, perhaps the fastener of the pearl necklace. The box and its content are usually associated with the morning toilette even though recent criticism has stressed that Vermeer tended to avoid conventional narrative. Tones of ochre and brown suggest rather than precisely define the surface decorations of the box.

The red velvet lining has faded somewhat although it is more intense along the edge of the canvas where it has been protected by the picture’s frame. This area most likely had been glazed the deep transparent ruby-red pigment called madder lake over an orange-toned layer of opaque vermilion in order to achieve a deep luminous red.

Husband and Wife (detail)
Lorenzo Lotto
1523
98 x 118 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

The richly designed Oriental carpets with their curious ornaments appealed greatly to European artists and may be considered an intersection of two civilizations. “European painting by the great masters from Giotto and Ghirlandaio to Holbein, Van Eyck, Lotto, and Vermeer constantly depict carpets from Turkey and Iran. Such paintings document the importance that the Oriental carpet had attained by this time as a quintessential symbol of cosmopolitan taste and affluence. So valued were these carpets that there were various attempts to imitate or adapt them in Europe.”* With the rapid expansion of the foreign trade of the Netherlands, colorful oriental carpets became very popular in the 16th and particular in the 17th century as decorative objects, laid on tables or chests. In Europe, these rare and costly carpets were generally used to cover tables, chests or trunks to minimize their wear. It has even been suggested that their colors influenced the palette of Venetian painting. In painters’ depictions they only rarely appear on the floor. Very few of the real carpets have survived.

We do not know if Vermeer represented the design and color of the carpets seen in his paintings with absolute fidelity. For example, the rug that appears in the early Christ in the House of Martha and Mary seems to be identical in design with the one represented in the Maid Asleep. They have in common a broad, light orange border ending in a fringe but the medallion in the former is colored yellow, in the latter green. It is not evident whether Vermeer used one rug as a model and painted imaginary variations on it or, less likely, whether he had two similar but distinct objects before his eyes.

* Nazmiyal News & Information on Antique Oriental and Persian Carpets
http://blog.nazmiyal.com/oriental-carpets-rugs/2006/07/25/

Play with colours. The use of natural ultramarine in Vermeer’s oeuvre

One of the most remarkable examples of Vermeer’s use of natural ultramarine can be found in Young Woman with a Water Pitcher. Although, as it might be expected, it was the principle pigment used to depict the folded blue drapery on the table, natural ultramarine was also employed to evoke the incoming daylight passing through the glass panes of the open window. Vermeer applied delicate admixtures of opaque and semi-transparent natural ultramarine and white over the warm tone of the canvas preparation in order to register the varying degrees of intensity of light as it plays on and through the surface of the uneven glass. Observed with care, we can see that even the dark brown lead molding has been painted with ultramarine. The contrast between the bluish glass and the warm-toned sunlit portion of the window frame is absolutely natural.

The headdress worn by the young woman presents an even more striking example of this technique. It appears to have been first modeled in shades of white and neutral gray. Once dry, delicate shades of genuine ultramarine and lead white were superimposed over the shadowed areas to render the candid transparency of the starched cloth inundated by sunlight. No other Dutch painter dared so much and yet these passages are striking for their absolute naturalness. Natural ultramarine is even found in the light gray paint of the background wall. The combined effect of the aged varnish and the blue in the wall mixture produce a subtle green undertone which may not have been the artist’s intentions.

Artistic transformation

In the early 1660s, Vermeer turned away from the hollow cube-type painting of Pieter de Hooch and other artists of Southern Holland to a new type of composition which had been successfully pioneered by Gerard ter Borch and Frans van Mieris, both extraordinarily successful in the genre of interior painting.

Vermeer’s former preoccupation with three-dimensional space, created by a complex orchestration of architectural features, linear perspective and overlap, suddenly gave way to four compositions of the incomparable simplicity. Each of these works presents a single female figure absorbed in some mundane activity captured unaware in a shallow middle ground inundated by natural light. Motifs, whether they be animate or inanimate, are treated impartially and stripped of any anecdotal detail which might distract the viewer. Contours are no longer uniformly sharp as in the early works but softly blurred and daringly simplified. The aesthetic result is a tender, luminous tremor unequalled by his contemporaries whose works seem motionless and frozen by comparison. The shapes described by the contours of the individual objects, which Vermeer notable Walter Liedtke eloquently terms “luminous silhouettes,” are gauged and aligned one to another on the painting’s surface rather than in depth as if they were a part of some grand, meaningful puzzle.

The surface qualities of the motifs lose much of their textural qualities assuming a curious optical character which many experts credit to Vermeer’s experimentations with camera obscura vision. Like few other artists, Vermeer was able to progressively adapt his painting technique to the new artistic vision. Gone are the uneven textures of the canvas surface and the knotty build-up of impasto paint. To evoke the new uncluttered optical world, form is slowly built up by applying sequential layers of thin, semitransparent paint. The canvas surface resemble the sheen of the luxurious materials worn by the artists models.

In each of the works, the figure strikes a pose that in reality could be held for considerable length of time in order to avoid coming into conflict with the inherent stillness of the painted reality. However, if attentively observed, the figure in the present work nonetheless leans to the right-hand side of the composition, a bit off balance in real life. Her unbalanced posture introduces a tension and expectancy into the rectangular composition. The “imbalance” is properly anchored by a strong, axial line which runs down from the vertical edge of the map through the standing jug (see left).

That Vermeer’s compositions are among the most highly determined in the history of easel painting is rendered more astonishing by the fact that they never interfere with the naturalistic reading of the scene.

“Negative space” and pictorial design

Vermeer’s sensitivity to pictorial design finds no parallel in Western art. Each and every element of the picture plane is determined with the utmost care in order to create a perfectly balanced, yet subtly dynamic composition, which, unlike abstract paintings of today, were not meant to appreciated in themselves but to focus and activate the scene which is represented. The value of a composition can be judged by how successfully it relates to the motif.

One of the highest achievements in Vermeer’s composition was the pervasive manipulation of the so-called negative spaces, or those areas of an image between the solid objects that are perceived as empty spaces. Normally, the viewer senses these negative spaces as leftovers. Their presence is not sensed as meaningful. Oppositely, Vermeer lends each one a clear simple, yet interesting shape capable of exerting its own visual power subliminally vying for the observer’s attention. For Vermeer the artist, everything component of a painting merits equal attention.

The negative shapes, represented in the present work by the light gray background wall, and the positive shapes (the objects) interlock as if some sort of grand puzzle creating a sense of inevitable pictorial unity lending unsuspected resonance to the temporal gesture of the woman.

Technical description of the picture

The support is a plain-weave linen with a thread count of 14 x 14 per cm². The canvas has been lined and the original tacking edges have been removed.

The ground is pale gray and contains lead white, chalk, and umber. In the brightly lit areas of the wall is a thin gray layer, slightly paler than the ground, containing some ultramarine. Yellow ocher was added to this layer in the shadows and half-shadows. The left shaded side of the basin has a red underpaint that extends under the adjacent part of her skirt. It is visible as a red outline describing the top edge.

The composition has been altered. There once was a chair with lion’s head finials in the lower left foreground and the map on the back wall was located further to the left in line with the left edge of the woman’s headgear. The red velvet lining of the jewelry box lid has faded, though the color is still intense where it has been shaded by the frame. Abrasion along all edges and in thin-glazed shadows, as well as scattered flake losses, are present.

* Johannes Vermeer (exh. cat., National Gallery of Art and Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis – Washington and The Hague, 1995, edited by Arthur Wheelock)

‘The Geographer’

This work is about ‘The Geographer’ which is one of the approximately 34 paintings, we know, created by Johannes Vermeer. This painting was finished in 1668-1669. Hence, this painting belongs to the golden age of Dutch painting. ‘The Geographer’ was exposed in Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt am Main. In addition, this painting was also exposed in the Guggenheim museum of Bilbao some months ago. (You can see a video about it in the Resources esxposed below).

I chose this painting because it is different from others. Most of Vermeer’s paintings represent women in a room. However, this painting is one of the few paintings in which a man is represented in a room. Women are usually looking through the window and in this case it is a man who does it. At those times, the role of men was very different from the role of women. In addition, the activities they made were also very different. Men were the ones that travelled around the world while their wives, daughters and so on were at home.

About the painting itself, there are some important elements to highlight. The first one is the geographer itself, his position and the reflexion of light upon him is very well done. The position of the geographer shows as if he was in balance, thinking of something but an instant later, he continued with his work. It has been said throughout time that the person who appears in the painting could be Vermeer but also some other people has said the man in the painting was Vermeer’s son. However, nobody knows it.

The geographer was dressed in a Japanese-style robe which was very popular at those times among scholars. And, as you can see his hair was curly and long. That shows the style at those times. In addition, when we look at this figure, we can guess he is thinking of something or someone. In the story written for Claire, I have supposed that he was imaging new lands he could discover in his next travels.

Apart form the geographer, the globe and the signature of Vermeer are also important elements in the painting. This painting is one of the three paintings that contain Vermeer’s signature. The other two are ‘The Astronomer’ and ‘The Procuress’.

More important elements that can be seen in this painting are maps which show the art of the person who paint them and also his scientific skills. These maps signify that there is something outside. There is a world to visit. In addition, the compass is a symbol that shows how women are the fixed side and men are the ones who travel around the world to discover it. Finally, the last element I am going to mention is the cloth that is present in some other paintings such as ‘The Astronomer’ and ‘The Concert’.

Most of these mentioned elements are also in ‘The Astronomer’. Both contain the signature of Vermeer although ‘The Geographer’ contain two signatures, one in the cupboard and the other in the top right of the painting. Both paintings contain books, a globe, the same cloth in the same position, a chair, the window in the same side and the cupboard. The left side of the paintings is the most recharged one and the right side contains some shadows that are projected in the walls and symbolize that there is something new to discover.

In addition, the astronomer has also long curly hair, as the geographer and they are involved in scholarly pursuits. However, there are also some differences, such as, the position of the main figure, the decoration of the window in ‘the Astronomer’ is not present in ‘The Geographer’, the compass used by the geographer was not present in the astronomer but in this last painting there is also another element that is not present in ‘the Geographer’,  the planisphere. Apart from the similitude found in the paintings, these works are considered companion pieces because they share the same provenance until 1778.

As a conclusion, ‘The Geographer’ has a lot of elements in common with other paintings, even if they were created by other painters since Vermeer was very mock by others. Hence, there are some other paintings created by other important painters that can be compared with ‘The Geographer’. The names of these paintings are the following: ‘Scholar in his study’; ‘Emblem from Abraham Spinneker’; ‘Geographers at work’ and ‘Portrait of Johan van Beverwijck’.

Resources:

• “List of paintings by Johannes Vermeer” Wikipedia Enciclopedia Libre. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_paintings_by_Johannes_Vermeer>
• “El Guggenheim abre sus salas a los grandes maestros flamencos y holandeses”. Youtube. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6U70uFV8LvI>
• “Web Gallery of Art”. <http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/v/vermeer/03d/29geogr.html>