Johannes Vermeer: Master of Using Creativity in Art
Johannes Vermeer is one of the most well-known artists of the Dutch Golden Age. Why do his beautiful interior scenes hold our attention? Was Vermeer manipulating light across many surfaces? Or was the audience compelled to infer the compositions’ unwritten story because of their silent mystery? Whatever the cause, Vermeer’s tiny, bright pictures still hold the attention of spectators today. One can identify the distinctive style of Vermeer’s paintings because of the unique method used in them.
Biography
For painters, the Dutch Golden Age (1588–1672) was a thrilling time. It was an era characterised by wealth, peace, and trade. The domestic art industry was growing, with both an enormous quantity and an endless market demand. Customers bought the paintings that artists were selling. Despite this environment’s ability to support artists financially, Johannes Vermeer chose not to pursue his art full-time. He produced 35 recognised artworks only because his main occupations were as an art dealer and an innkeeper. Vermeer’s body of work is minuscule in the context of his contemporaries. He makes up for what he lacks in number, though, with quality. His paintings are a blatant example of the value above quantity philosophy.
Burgundian Artist
The artist is in front of the model. He is looking at her as he paints a picture of her on his canvas. Thus, he offers his back to the foreground while the audience is unable to see his face. His outfit selection is quite fascinating. He doesn’t dress as a Dutchman from the 17th century would nowadays. Instead, he is dressed in a manner reminiscent of a Burgundian from the 15th century. A white undershirt is visible through the upper back and lower sleeve slits on the black outer shirt. The scarlet stockings and fluffy white garters on his legs further contribute to the vintage appearance. Numerous academics think Vermeer is portraying the artist while posing as the history of painting.
Death Mask
A selection of items is spread out on a table next to the model. A death mask made of white plaster is the most noticeable. Plaster casts of the faces of recently departed renowned persons, including kings, artists, and celebrity criminals, were often produced during the 17th century. They served as historical artefacts, physiognomic records, and curiosity items. The presence of a death mask in the Art of Painting may allude to the scene’s unfinished canvas’ tragic conclusion. The picture might not be a big hit. Maybe it’ll be too average? Or perhaps the mask serves as a memento mori, serving as a visual reminder to the viewer that everything and everyone has a finite life cycle.
Curtain Swag
A big curtain can be seen enclosing the left border of the scene as the viewer’s attention moves to the front. It has a dramatic upward sweep in the style of a Baroque swag. This theme suggests that the scene being shown was created artificially. The muse, the artist, and their surroundings are depicted from behind a curtain, much like in a theatrical presentation. The side sweep of the hiding curtain dramatically reveals a secret moment. The visitor is suggested to be an outsider and nearly a voyeur enjoying a covert composition by this Baroque pattern. The addition of the chair at the curtain’s base is wonderful. It invites the viewer to have a seat and appreciate this staged situation. The chair invites while the curtain repels. On the left margin of the artwork, a push-pull contradiction is in play.
Guarded Inheritance
It’s interesting to know that after Vermeer passed away, Catharina Bolnes preserved Art of Painting as one of the handful of his paintings that she had purchased. Perhaps Catharina Bolnes believed that her loving husband’s career had reached its pinnacle with this picture. It might have been a description of his lifelong quest to become a master painter. Regardless matter the explanation, Art of Painting is a masterwork by Vermeer. It is an illustration of mindfulness in which every word refers to quiet meditation. We are compelled to stop and think. Vermeer might have sought peace in his studio, away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Even geniuses require some alone time.
