Andrea here, I recently saw a very entertaining article in the New York Times on a reality show—not something that would usually catch my fancy. But in this case it was about art, and an artist who fascinates me, so I took a closer read.
In celebration of a mega-blockbuster exhibit currently on view at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (alas, currently sold out, but more slots may become available) Dutch TV decided to create a challenge for both amateur and professional artists to “reinvent” some of the lost works of the famous painter. The judges are Vermeer experts the Rijksmuseum and the Mauritshuis, in The Hague. The results are absolutely delightful—you can view them here on the station’s website. Isn’t it fun to see such creativity in bloom?
For those of you not familiar with his work, he is one of the giants of 17th century Dutch art despite how few of his paintings still exist. His meticulous depiction of domestic life of the middle class—a milkmaid in the kitchen, a a woman reading a letter, a man at work in his study—epitomize the careful attention to tiny details that characterize the prevalent style in Holland at the time. But even in an era when technical proficiency abounded, his level of nuance and detail demanded great patience and precision
Hockney published Secret Knowledge: Rediscovering the Lost Techniques of the Old Masters in 2001, in which he discussed his theories and presented his reasoning. He points out that optical aids help reduce a three dimension view to a two dimensional view as it projects the images captures onto a flat surface (ie. a piece of canvas or paper.) For him, it explains why Vermeer could capture the effect of light so well.
One very interesting observation was made when Jenison interviewed neurobiologist Colin Blakemore, who pointed out that “human vision cannot process information about the absolute brightness of a scene.” Which is why the use of optics would explain how Vermeer could distinguish certain shades of light.
Vermeer was well-known in his own country during his lifetime, but his fame didn’t spread beyond its borders. He was often in financial difficulties—he had 15 children, 11 of whom survived past the first few months of birth—and plagued with debt. Some art historians speculate that he may have taken a number of mundane commissions in order survive, and that explains why there are so few of his masterpieces.
I would love to go to Amsterdam to see the extraordinary exhibit of so many Vermeers in one place. Are you familiar with Vermeer’s art? Would you like to try your hand at creating a work of art that captures his domestic world? Be sure to check out what the reality show contestants came up with—it’s very inspiring!)