Related Works (The Maid Asleep)

View of an Interior, or The Slippers

 

created: around 1658

This painting created by Samuel Van Hoogstraten is a subtly moralistic piece, a fascinating exercise in perspective, and a painting of poetic calm. This work was attributed to Samuel Van Hoogstraten even his other Works were complitely painted in a different way.

 

The Idle Servant

 

 created:  1655

This painting is created by Maes and it is complemented by the room beyond, where it is possible to see three figures sit at table. The painting is one of the earliest interior of its kind with a view into another room. This device was further developed in Delftin the work of de Hooch in the later 1650s and by Vermeer during his painting career. These painters may have been influenced by Carel Fabritius.

 

Melencolia I

Created: 1514

This great painting is a creation of the German Renaissance Master Albrecht Dürer. This painting is an allegorical composition which has become the subject of many interpretations. One of the most famous old master prints, it has sometimes been regarded as forming one of a conscious group of Meisterstiche with his Knight, Death and the Devil (1513).

Sources:

Jan Vermeer paintings prints reproduction, Retrieved 09:00 May 12, 2011, from  http://www.artunframed.com/jan_vermeer.htm

Essential Vermeer, Retrieved 10:54, May 10, 2011, from http://www.essentialvermeer.com/

Johannes Vermeer,Retrieved 12:00, May 10, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Vermeer

PPT on The Maid Asleep

This is the presentation I made in class

“The Milkmaid”-by Johannes Vermeer

As you may have guessed after gazing my previous articles, the picture I have been working on during this months has been Vermeer’s “The Milkmaid”. This time, by this article, I will try to develop more in depth the aspects of the picture I analyzed in the 5 minute  presentation  given in class, so that you can understand the artist, the painting and what goes beyond it. Hope you find it interesting!

The Milkmaid is an oil on canvas painting of 45.5 x 41 cm by the famous Dutch painter we have been studying this semester, Johannes Vermeer. The work shows a kitchen maid performing one of her most ordinary duties: the pouring of milk into a container. The picture is held in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Although the exact year of the painting’s completion is unknown, experts determine the years between 1657-1661 as possible dates.

“The Milkmaid” was painted in a time of great wealth and power in the Netherlands, in which trade, art and science developed so much as to be among the most acclaimed in the world. In 1568  The Seven Provinces that signed the Union of Utretcht started a rebellion against Phillip II of Spain which eventually led to the Eighty Years’ War. Before Spain started to   reconquer the Low Countries again, England declared war to Spain. The Eighty Years’ War finally ended with The Peace of Westphalia in 1648, where the peace settlement was signed by Spain and the Republic of   the Seven United Netherlands. The Dutch East India Company settled a Dutch monopoly on Asian trade which prevailed for two centuries. The Dutch also dominated the trade between European countries, by the year 1680 an average of nearly 1000 Dutch ships crossed the Baltic Sea each year.

As we have learned in class, due to the strong doctrines of Calvinism, the artists of the time were not allowed to depicted sex in their paintings. However, Vermeer, along with other artist of the time, knew how to circumvent the censors by leaving subtle symbols that evoke lust or female sexuality. The pouring of milk might have lascivious connotations, the Dutch word for milk “melken” might also be defined as “to sexually attract”. The milkmaid’s body becomes the center of attraction. It was not only the thickness of her waist that attracted the viewer of the time, but also the contrast between the rough leather sleeves with the nudity of her forearm. It seems that Vermeer was well acquainted with the reputation of milkmaids, who were known for their sexual availability. In the end, it is not only the allusions to female sexuality, but also the depiction of an honest and hard working milkmaid that give the picture its romantic or emotional meaning.

To achieve this level of precision, Vermeer used a sophisticated painting technique which was developed and enhanced throughout his life. At first, in his early works he used a thick impasto paint   layer. By using this technique Vermeer puts an emphasis to the materials present in the picture rather than in the characters portrayed. Later he started working with a new technique called “pointillé”, or little dots of paint applied to a canvas in order to obtain a higher level accuracy and detail. Although it is not very clear, some experts maintain that the use of this specific technique along with other visual peculiarities, suggest that Vermeer might have used the “camera obscura”, a precursor to the modern photographic camera, in some of his works.

On the other hand, Vermeer used a few number of pigments if compared to his contemporaries.  However, less than twenty pigments have been detected in Vermeer’s works and ten of those seem to have been of regular usage. As an interesting  fact, in Vermeer’s time each pigment was differed from the other in terms of permanence, drying time and workability.

The difficulty of painting with these pigments was that many of those were often not compatible   with each other and had to be used separately. Although it is unlikely that Vermeer had every pigment in his palette when creating one of his works, it is possible that he had the pigments needed for each part of the    painting he was working at.

Vermeer commonly employed seven different types: white lead, yellow  ochre, vermillion, red madder, green earth, raw umber and ivory black. A interesting detail to tell is that to paint      bluish tones in The Milkmaid, Vermeer used a the  pigment ultramarine, which was more expensive and finer than the commonly used azurite.

If we were to analyze the most important parts of the picture, we could start from the face of the milkmaid. it is important to focus on the light coming from the window and reflecting directly  upon her face in shadows and pale scales therefore, creating an effect of three-dimensionality. For the face Vermeer used small touches of paint like reddish brown, white, light ocher and  brown combined all together. The window becomes another central theme of the picture, providing the portrait with light and luminosity. Vermeer gives importance to little details, thus we  can see a broken piece of glass or the irregularity of the window frame.

The basket and the copper pail next to the window are elements related to the thematic of the painting: the pouring milk. Both being objects used when shopping in the market. The basket is painted using the white, ochre and black, which eventually mingle to adapt to the form of the basket’s wicker.  The milkmaid’s dress is said to be a winter dress due to the amount of layers it has. She wears a robust leather top and a blue apron over a heavy red wool skirt. Taking a close look at the milkmaid’s garment we can see that it was painted applying thick and quick dabs of yellow and brown pigments to give it the rough texture required ( the impasto technique again).

The jar, the vessel, the pieces of bread on the table and the care with which pours the milk are elements that give great meaning to the final composition. These elements  suggest that the woman  was making curd; this might be a possible reason to explain why the milkmaid is pouring the milk with such care. The slightly porous texture of the stoneware and the  “pointillés” used for  painting the bread, give the picture an extraordinary luminosity and lifelikeness.

The decorated tiles in the lower part of the wall behind the milkmaid, served as a skirting that  protected the plaster from the daily damage of brooms and were made tiny works of art of the finest  porcelain. On one of the tiles a Cupid can be appreciated which leads to two different schools of  thought, one supporting an amorous interpretation of it and a more skeptical one, who believes  that those Cupid were symbols often used in the Dutch houses of the time.

To end up with this article it must be said that  the identity of the milkmaid has been a matter of debate for  critics. Some of them have speculated that it was Vermer’s family  maid (hrough some  documents of 1663 it is known her existence and character). In addition, as some of us have mentioned in our Facebook page “Johannes Vermeer’s influence and inspiration ( a view from  Deusto)”,  it is largely known that many of Vermeer’s paintings, after having been exposed to X-rays, have revealed some items which were painted over.  In the case of the picture I have been  analyzing, a clothes basket can be found near the bottom of the painting, behind the maid’s red skirt!

Sources:

• The Essential Vermeer. May 7, 2011 at 16.00 from http://www.essentialvermeer.com/
• Johannes Vermeer. The Milkmaid. Retrieved. May 2 , 2011 at 21:00 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Milkmaid_(Vermeer)
• Johannes Vermeer. Retrieved. May 2, 2011 at 21.00 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer’s “Woman Holding a Balance”: a General Review

I decided to choose Woman Holding a Balance because it is probably one of Vermeer’s most harmonious and peaceful paintings, and because it conceals many curiosities, secrets and symbols. The work of art has received many other names, as Woman Weighing Gold, Woman Testing a Balance and Woman Weighing Pearls. The reason why it has got so many different names is that, although at first experts thought the portrayed woman was weighing some kind of precious material, later X-rays and microscopic examination proved that the balance she is holding is actually empty, and this aroused a great controversy. There are different opinions about the theme and symbolism of the work of art, as the woman is viewed as a symbol of holiness and earthiness.

"Woman Holding a Balance", by Vermeer

This composition is thought to have been made between the years 1662 and 1665. The material Vermeer used is oil on canvas and its size is pretty small (42.5 x 38 cm) if compared with the idea I had of the painting. Currently, the piece is located at The National Gallery in Washington DC.

In the painting, we can see a young woman, seemingly pregnant, who is holding a balance before a table where there are three containers like an open box of jewelry, and some pearls and gold coming out of it. There is a blue cloth in the left foreground, as well as a curtain and a window through which light enters the scene. We can see a little mirror in the wall that is just in front of the woman and a picture of the Last Judgment scene in the wall right behind her.

The origins of this work have been traditionally linked to the also Dutch artist Pieter de Hooch, whose painting Gold Weigher matches Vermeer’s picture very closely. Since neither of the paintings are dated accurately and since both artists were contemporary, “who influenced who” has been a subject of debate for critics. It seems that de Hooch was living and working in Amsterdam but lived in Delft for some years, so it is very likely that the two artists met and exchanged ideas. However, it seems that de Hooch’s Gold Weigher originally had a male figure in the scene, which later was erased by the artist himself. If this were true, the paintings would not look so alike.

"Gold Weigher", by de Hooch

Regarding the woman’s appearance, the same white cap that she is wearing was represented by the artist in other paintings too, both tied and opened. According to Dutch costume experts, the cap was partly ornamental and it served to protect the hairdo; it was typically made of white linen, sometimes of nettlecloth and cotton.

One of the greatest mysteries is who posed for the young lady in the painting. Maybe because of the intimate nature that Vermeer’s paintings usually have, there has been a tendency to link the painter’s family members to the sitters of his paintings, some of whom seem to have posed for him more than once. This makes a lot of sense, for employing professional models at the time was very expensive. Most people believe the woman holding the balance is his wife Catharina, who apparently also posed for The Girl Reading a Letter by an Open Window and Woman in Blue Reading a Letter.

The same model, probably Catharina, in other two paintings by Vermeer

To modern viewers, it looks quite obvious that the woman is pregnant but, according to experts, pregnancy was not a common subject in art and there were actually very few depictions of women in maternity clothes. Even in religious paintings such as the Visitation, where depictions of pregnant women were required, the bodies were usually completely hidden by draperies. In addition, apparently, Dutch fashion in the 17^th century encouraged bulky silhouettes.

The two most important elements of Woman Holding a Balance are, no doubt, the picture-within-the-picture and the balance. The picture-within-the-picture shows the Biblical scene of the Last Judgment –the final eternal judgment of every nation by God, where he decides which souls will go to Heaven and which souls will go to Hell. The artist of the painting remains an enigma, but he is thought to be Jacob de Backer, as Vermeer was an art dealer and he was thought to have a similar painting in his possession. A detail that gives evidence to the fact that Backer’s work was a model to Vermeer is that Christ is depicted with both hands raised and outstretched, which is not very common in the depictions of the Last Judgment.

"The Last Judgment", by Backer

Another interesting element of the work of art is the mirror, which appears four times in Vermeer’s whole oeuvre. Iconographic associations to mirrors are numerous; for instance, sometimes they represent pride, other times vanity, prudence, self-knowledge, and truth. It seems that the mirror in this painting is the same as the one in Woman with a Pearl Necklace, as both are said to be of the same size and presumably made out of ebony. Painters depicting someone gazing into a mirror often also show the person’s reflection, although this is not the case, as we see the mirror from the profile. This is a kind of abstraction, as in most cases the angle of view is such that the person’s reflection should not be visible.

"Prudenza with a Mirror", by Giovanni Bellinni

On the other hand, the balance the woman is holding is probably very closely connected to the idea of judgment and the Weighing of the Souls, so Vermeer clearly wants the viewer to see the link between the picture-within-the-picture and the balance. Besides, scales were really important at that time in order to prevent fraud; it was necessary to keep a constant check not only on the amount of goods one had, but also on coins.

A golden balance

The curtain seems to be very similar to the one in Woman with a Pearl Necklace, but warmer in tone. The same yellowish color is used in the two golden stripes in the frame of the Last Judgment picture, as well as in the woman’s dress. One should also pay attention to the stained glass window that was so typical of the period and that the painter used in many other paintings.

In addition, the wooden extendable table seen in the painting appears to be the same as the one Vermeer used in other interiors. This kind of table was considered a luxury item in Dutch painting of the time. The legs have a beautiful bulbous form, and in the 17^th century, this piece of furniture was known as a draw-leaf table ­–because it could be extended by pulling out extra leaves.

The floor tiles are also worth taking into account, as they are the typical black and white chess-like tiles that Vermeer often used. Likewise, Cornelis de Mann, who was also contemporary to Vermeer, depicted the same table and the same floor tiles in his works.

Detail of "A Man Weighing Gold", by Cornelis de Mann

To sum up, it is well worth noting that Woman Holding a Balance is one of Vermeer’s most interesting and mysterious paintings, due to its great symbolism and its several possible interpretations. I will go posting additional information about the painting in order to make the overall study of the work as complete as possible. For more information, I leave my Powerpoint presentation here:

References:

• Wikipedia, Woman Holding a Balance. Retrieved 13:28, April 15, 2011 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_Holding_a_Balance
• National Gallery of Art, Woman Holding a Balance, a Moment Captured. Retrieved 17:32, April 20, 2011 from http://www.nga.gov/feature/vermeer/moment1.shtm
• Essential Vermeer, Woman Holding a Balance. Retrieved 20:13, May 1, 2011 from http://www.essentialvermeer.com/

The Girl with the Wine Glass

In the following lines you can find the presentation I did on Vermeer’s ‘The Girl with the Wine Glass’.  First, I will show you the technical details and then I will try to reconstruct the essence of this particular painting.

• Title: The Girl with the Wine Glass  
  By: Jan Vermeer (1632 – 1675)
  Year: 1659
• Original Size: 66 x 77 cm
  Medium: Oil on Canvas
  Location: Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Brunswick, Germany 
• Signature: Inscribed lower right window pane: IVMeer

Vermeer’s paintings belong to a genre of domestic scenes in mid 17th-century inHolland. Many of these scenes focus on relationships and man’s inability to resist his sexual appetite particularly under the influence of wine and tobacco. And briefly speaking, that is the story of this painting. Here we can see a scene of seduction where an elegant young man encourages a young woman to enjoy a glass of wine. However, the smile on her face as she turns to the viewer indicates that he, rather than she, is the one being seduced.

Now, let’s focus on some details. One of the most remarkable features is the portrait that Vermeer includes since this was the only time when Vermeer drew a picture-within-a-picture in one of his works. According to Vermeer expert Arthur Wheelock, the rigid pose and the elegant clothes of the man in the portrait as well as the careful placing of the upright portrait between the two male figures focus on the artist’s concerns for the lack of moral constraint in contemporary life.

 Another important feature of the painting is this coloured stained-glass window. In this zoomed picture we can see how Vermeer portrays a lady in the glass window. The female figure holding bridle is said to personify Temperance. The bridle would symbolize emotional control. Thus, again it is very probable that, together with the portrait on wall, this window may represent moderation due to the protagonists’ lack of self restraint.

 The young woman’s expressive face is not typical in Vermeer; he usually hides the emotions of the characters. One  early Vermeer expert has suspected that her staring eyes and awkward smile were the result of overpainting. In any case, the woman, rather than exchanging glances with her suitor, turns towards the viewer, separating herself from him. Arthur Wheelock believes that the woman’s smiling is a knowing one, indicating not only that she is aware of the situation, but also that she is in control. Thus, it is he rather than she the one that is being seduced.

Although Vermeer’s paintings are primarily known for its lemon yellow and deep blue colour harmony, in this case the artist experimented with strong reds in his early days as a painter. In this way we can see erotic overtones such as red and yellow in the woman’s dress that may actually suggest desire. The fiery red of this dress may denote the hidden passions of the young woman who seems to be accepting the advances of the gentleman.

 The suitor in the foreground carefully accompanies the woman’s hand which holds the wineglass in a delicate way. His intentions have been interpreted in a number of ways by Vermeer specialists, stating that he is a comic man, a seducer or the seduced. The truth is that his posture and expression is so formalized that he fails to unlock the precise narrative meaning of the painting.

 Among all Vermeer’s paintings, it is the only painting other than the Concert to include three figures, but where the Concert shows two women and a man making music together, in this painting the third figure is apart from the couple in the background resting his head on his hand in a melancholy attitude. The obvious explanation is that, as his pose suggests, he is a suitor for the young woman too but he has been rejected. It is therefore understandable that his position is uncomfortable since he clearly does not fit in this situation.

Finally, it is important to point out that the two lemons, pipe, silver plate, wine and the sheet of paper possibly containing tobacco may be seen as a connotation of luxury, consumption and seduction. In many scenes of ritual courtship lemons are commonly set along side oysters served up on a silver plate and although we cannot clearly see oysters in this plate they may be. Moreover, lemons were also used to sweeten and soften the wine, in this respect once more they serve symbolically to indicate the importance of moderating one’s behaviour.

References:

• Googlebooks. Vermeer and the Invention of Seeing by Bryan Jay Wolf. Retrieved on April 25, 2011 from http://books.google.es/books?id=TZgSLFesAZwC&pg=PA123&dq=Vermeer+The+girl+with+a+wine+glass&hl=es&ei=LVG4TYzzAs7A8QOUr7E4&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDQQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Vermeer%20The%20girl%20with%20a%20wine%20glass&f=false
• EssentialVermeer. The Girl with the Wine Glass by Johannes Vermeer. Retieved on April 25, 2011 from http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/girl_with_a_wine_glass.html

POEM: A LADY WRITING A LETTER By VERMEER

 

All day I am walking to the square

in the sun. I don’t know what to say.

I’ve begun the letter but it lies

on a black tile in the sitting room.

It has been five years

since the child. There’s no reason

for delay. I sip tea, plead

with the bargain-marker, sass

the servant-girl, but no luck.

I take a pinch of chocolate, search

birds’ tracks at the corners

of my eyes. No one knocks.

So what keeps me here?

 

 

It has taken this long to write.

Now, even you expect no reply.

That is as it should be.

I write to tell you I am alive.

What else is there? All the devils

you see in the air mean nothing-

this you know, so I write to assure you

you are not mistaken, your skin

is where you are not, around me

tight as stays. If I picture your face,

there is nothing left but this:

my stomach flowers as it once did.

I have not forgotten yet.

 

 From Afterimages. Poems by Cathryn Hankla.

References:

• Google books. Afterimages, poems by Carhryn Hankla. Retrieved on May 15, 2011 from http://books.google.es/books?id=MANvuJ3aFwgC&dq=a+lady+writing+a+letter+vermeer&source=gbs_navlinks_s