Introduction
The paintings ‘Girl with a pearl earring’ and ‘Girl with a wine glass’ are examples of the most famous works of Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer. The ‘Girl with a pearl earring’ is believed to be one of his most brilliant works. In addition to this, it is widely believed that Vermeer only painted thirty-six paintings in his lifetime. His demise undoubtedly brought to the end the life of a very distinguished painter whose paintings are still endeared by many.
Discussion
A biography on Johannes Vermeer
The painter Johannes Vermeer was born in Delft, a prosperous and active Dutch town. Vermeer rarely left his native town. The prosperity of the town was mainly because of its thriving breweries, tapestry weaving ateliers and factories1. Additionally, a susceptible city had a distinguished and long past. The city’s strong walls, medieval gates, fortifications protected it from war especially during the Dutch revolt against the Spanish control of Hasburg 2. This artist was baptized in the year 1632 and he became a protestant. Vermeer’s father was a member of the distinguished Saint Luke Guild and he dealt with paintings in his inn. In these times art dealing and in keeping often went together. Vermeer’s mother and his grandmothers were uneducated. Vermeer derived his artistic formation from his father who bought and sold paintings. In those times, it was the custom for any Dutch painter to undergo a six-year internship with any master painter that belonged to the Saint Luke Guild which was a dominant trade organization. The objective of this organization was to control the business aspect of artisans and painters. Through Vermeer’s tenure in this apprenticeship, he was comprehensively instructed in the art of painting and when he was admitted to the guild, he was authorized to sell and sign his own paintings as well as for other painters.
Vermeer’s master in painting was Leonaert Bramer of Delft whose curious Italianate style was quite different from the later and earlier works of Vermeer. Clearly, this showed that Bramer had an artistic influence on Vermeer. In April 1653, Vermeer married Catharina Bolnes who was slightly older than he was. The couple was blessed with eleven children and their marriage was a happy one until their financial troubles began. It is believed that it was because of the financial woes that Vermeer experienced that led to his demise. After his demise, his wife Catharina tried to save her husband’s paintings from the creditors.
Vermeer through his earliest paintings portrayed he painting styles of the artists that painted in the 17th century. Additionally, his three genuine works demonstrated the religion problems he endured since he was a catholic and most people in the city where he grew up were Protestants. Furthermore, his mother-in-law who was wealthy had a modest collection of Utrecht paintings and this was quite advantageous to Vermeer as he had these paintings at his disposal. 3It is quite evident that his mother-in-law somewhat contributed to this artist’s artistic development. It is believed that Vermeer’s total paintings are thirty-six in number.
Johannes Vermeer’s painting –Girl with a pearl earring
The painting ‘Girl with a pearl earring’ is an oil on canvas painting that was done by Vermeer in 1665-1667. Its dimensions are 46.5 x 40cm. Additionally, the dark background in this painting greatly contributes to the expressive effect of the painting4. In the era when this painting was painted, dark backgrounds were used by painters to isolate the model in the painting from any distracting features as well as enhance the three-dimensional effect of the model used for the paintings 5. Furthermore, the dark background in this painting appears quite spotted and uneven and the current painting has a somewhat different appearance as the background is a dark greenish one 6. However, it is said that this noticeable change in the background of this painting was because of a defect that was a result of the degradation of the paint that was used by Vermeer. The character represented in this painting is a young woman who is wearing a pearl earring. The background of this painting appears as a smooth, hard, glossy and deep background and the tone set against the warm flesh tone of the figure in the painting. Vermeer had highlighted an indigo transparent color mixed with the color weld7. Both of these colors were organic and they are dyestuffs that are derived from the respective plants. When these two colors are mixed together, the result is a transparent greenish color. However, Vermeer did not paint frequently with Indigo. In its original state, Vermeer painted the background a smooth, hard, glossy translucent green paint and this made the painting look darker and thus given a lot of depth by the under paint coat. In addition to this, the combination of the green tone is likely to create a visual effect that makes the tone of the flesh look more lively than it currently looks like.
Vermeer implemented some light ochre colored strokes of paint on the ground at the edges of the model’s face in the painting with the help of a stereomicroscope. Vermeer intention was to fix the most important parts of the contours in this painting. He also used tempera, oil, charcoal and chalk paints in different tones to achieve diverse effects in the painting. Additionally, Vermeer also used the under painting method in this painting. It was because of this method that he was able to achieve an accurate portrayal of light as well as chromatic subtleties8.
The young pretty girl in this painting does not have an identity as many scholars have tried to speculate who she is. In this painting, she is painted against a dark undefined background and she is dressed in an interesting costume with a turban wrapped around her head. Furthermore, the signature of this painting is located on the upper left corner of the painting and it was painted with a lighter color over the dark background but it is normally invisible in the reproductions of this painting. This sweet face of the girl in the painting portrayed a lot of innocent despite the tragedies and evolutions during the age when it was painted. Vermeer’s line of the right cheek of the girl in the painting portrays a lot of tenderness.
Johannes Vermeer’s painting ‘the girl with a wine glass’
In this painting, there are two men and a girl holding a wine glass. Vermeer experimented with a strong red color in this painting and this is quite evident in the fiery red dress of the woman in the painting. This red dress somewhat instigates the passion of the two young men in the painting who are trying to make some advances to the woman wearing the red dress. The scene or the background of the painting is certainly a domestic one that was quite prevalent in the seventeenth century in Holland, especially one pertaining to courtship and love. The theme of this painting mainly focuses on the eccentricity of female and male relationships and the inability of man to hold down his sexual appetite. In this painting, a young suitor is dressed in a stylish cape carefully hold’s the hand of the woman in the painting which gracefully holds a wineglass half full of wine. However, in this painting, the men and woman’s expression and posture are highly formalized by Vermeer and this makes it quite hard to comprehend the narrative meaning of the painting9. Additionally, there is another man in this painting who seems to be brooding. The young man’s unhappy facial expression may indicate that he may be a victim of rejection10. His expression is one of depression and quite unhappy. Furthermore, one of the most distinguishing features in this painting is the colored stained window made of glass. There is court of arms that is quite significant in the painting.
Vermeer painted the dress of the woman and other places in the painting in wet, with using impasto in some highlights. In addition to this, some parts of this composition may appear unfinished such as the wall behind the two young men.
Conclusion
Johannes Vermeer was born in Delft, a Dutch town. Vermeer father instituted some artistic values on him as he was an art dealer and an innkeeper. Vermeer’s master in painting was Leonaert Bramer of Delft whose curious Italianate style was quite different from the later and earlier works of Vermeer. Clearly, this showed that Bramer had an artistic influence on Vermeer. One of his most famous paintings are the girl with a pearl earring and the girl with a wine glass. In both of these paintings, Vermeer artistic brilliance was evidence and the paintings are still endeared by many people even today.
Bibliography
- Blankert, Albert , Montias, John and Aillaud Timothy. Vermeer. New York, NY: Overlook Press. 2007
- Chevalier, Theodore. Girl with a pearl earring. New York, NY: Plume. 2001
- Huerta, Robert. Giants of Delft: Johannes Vermeer and the natural philosophers: the parallel search for knowledge during the age of discovery. Cranbury, NJ: Bucknell University Press. 2001
- Snow, Edward and Vermeer, Johannes. A study of Vermeer. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. 1994
- Steadman, Peter. Vermeer’s camera: an uncovering truth behind the masterpieces. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. 2002
- Titchener, Campbell. Reviewing the arts: LEA’S communication series. London: Routledge. 2005
Footnotes
- Chevalier Thedore. Girl with a pearl earring. New York, NY: Plume. 2001. 24
- Titchener Campbell. Reviewing the arts: LEA’s communication series. London: Routledge
- Chevalier Theodore. Girl with a pearl earring. New York, NY: Plume. 2001. 32
- Snow Edward and Vermeer Johannes. A study of Vermeer. Los Angeles, LA: University of California Press
- Titchener, Campbell. Reviewing the arts: LEA’S communication series. London: Routledge. 2005
- Blankert, Albert , Montias, John and Aillaud Timothy. Vermeer. New York, NY: Overlook Press. 2007. 46
- Snow Edward and Vermeer. A study of Vermeer. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. 67
- Titchener Campbell. Reviewing the arts: LEA’s communication series. London: Routledge. 2005, 68
- Snow Edward and Vermeer. A study of Vermeer. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press. 1994. 76
- Huerta Robert. Giants of Delft: Johannes Vermeer and the natural philosophers: the parallel search for knowledge during the age of discovery. Cranbury, NJ: Bucknell University Press. 2001. 5