Johannes Vermeer - Artist Study

The second artist that we are studying this year for part of Olivia's art curriculum is Johannes (Jan) Vermeer. Some interesting facts from Splat! The Most Exciting Artists of All Time by Mary Richards are:
- Vermeer's purpose was to paint simple scenes of life at home, so realistic that they almost leap off the canvas.
- He is famous for paintings that almost looked like photographs, mysterious techniques, and setting all his pictures in the same room.
- He concentrated on oil paintings in the city of Delft, in the Netherlands.
- Time period: 1653-1675.
- 36 paintings have survived including The Milkmaid, The Art of Painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring, and The Music Lesson.
- Vermeer made paints using natural pigments. They were mixed with oil and then ground to make a smooth paste.
- One of the colors he used was ultramarine blue made from a precious stone called lapis lazuli. It was expensive and came from Afghanistan.
- Influences included the craftsmanship of fine musical instruments and other Delft artists (e.g., Fabritius, de Hooch).
- Experts used x-rays and infra-red cameras to see how Vermeer made his pictures. They show that he often changed his mind while working, painting over figures, objects, or details along the way.
- Vermeer did not have students so there is no record of the methods that he used.
- He, along with other artists of his time, would have used special tools with mirrors and lenses to project images onto canvas. These would have helped them to copy precisely what they saw in the room. The camera obscura helped artists create their pictures. The artist sat in a dark cubicle. Light passed through a hole in the wall, fitted with a lens, projecting an image of the scene onto the canvas.
- Vermeer died when he was young. He was only 43 years old. His wife described how he had "fallen into a frenzy," hugely in debt and worried about how he could support his large family of 15 children, his wife, and himself.

Below are six paintings that Johannes Vermeer created. Olivia studied each of them and shared some things that she remembered about them.

The Milkmaid
1658
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a woman and she is pouring milk from a pitcher into a bowl.
- She has a yellow dress on with a white shirt or petticoat underneath it. She is wearing a blue apron.
- There is a basket of bread on the table and next to the basket are pieces of bread that have been ripped up into smaller chunks.
- There is a window above her. It looks like she could be in the basement.
- On the floor, there is a box with holes on top and a ceramic or clay bowl inside of it.
- Along the baseboards are tiles. It looks like they have people painted on them. You can't see the details of the people, just that they were done in black paint.
- Next to the window is a basket hanging and this copper basket lantern or pot, and above that is a black box that looks like it could be a picture.
- The milkmaid has a white cap on her head and her cheeks look like they have more color in them than what you would normally see in a picture.
- She is looking down at what she is doing and she looks very relaxed.
- In the basket full of bread, there is the bread that she took the chunks from and a dark brown that looks almost black loaf of bread.
- Also on the table is this ceramic pitcher that has a bunch of hole, but I don't think they go all the way through. The pitcher has a lid.
- The floor is the same color as the walls. You don't see exactly what it is made out of it. It is a tannish grayish color.

The Art of Painting
1666-1668
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, Austria

Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there are two people - one is the painter and the other one is the model.
- The model is wearing a blue coat or dress with long sleeves and her hair is pulled up, and there are feathers or a headdress with feathers in it. The feathers are the same color as her dress.
- She is holding a book in one hand and in the other it looks like she is holding a musical instrument.
- The painter is dressed almost in all black and white except his socks or leggings that are a bright orange. His pants look really puffy. Actually, his entire outfit looks quite puffy.
- On the left side of the picture is a large curtain that covers part of the room. The curtain is a dark green with a floral design with blues and flowers.
- Behind - on the back wall - is a tapestry. On the tapestry there is a big hill or mountain that you see first and beyond that is another smaller mountain. There are ships in between the mountains on the water.
- There is a table in front of model and in between her and the painter; and there is the big face that is flat on the table. It looks like he was sculpting something.
- Also on the table it looks like there are fabrics that the painter might have wanted the model to wear.
- There is also a very flat looking book that is open. It just looks like paper. Also on the table is a box that looks like a painters box. It is closed and is seated upright.
- There are two chairs - one next to the curtain and the other is next to the back wall.
-There looks like there is a window behind the curtain because there is light that is shining in on the model.
- The ceiling looks like it is made out of wooden beams, and there is a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. It is not lit and there are no candles on it.
- The floor is black and white. It looks like it is tile.

The Guitar Player
1672
Kenwood, United Kingdom

Olivia remembered:
- There is a girl playing a guitar.
- She is dressed in a cream- or ivory-colored dress with a yellow coat over it that has fur trim on it.
- She is holding a guitar that has a braided design on the edge of it, and to the left of her there is a dresser or desk with three books on top.
- Above the books is a window that is partially covered with a curtain.
- Behind her, is a painting with a tree in it.
- Her hair is in tight little curls and looks like it is a reddish-brown color.
- Her face looks very peaceful. She is definitely kind of pale or fair-skinned. She doesn't appear to be wearing makeup.
- The guitar looks like it is smaller than your average guitar, but it is bigger than a ukulele.
- Her clothes looks like they were made out of silk or satin.
- She looks like she is looking at someone, but you can't see who.

The Girl with a Pearl Earring

1665

Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands

According to "A Child's Introduction to Art" by Heather Alexander, "The Girl with a Pearl Earring" is sometimes called the Dutch "Mona Lisa." No one knows who the girl is. Although she appears to be a commoner, her pearl earring is very large and would have been expensive. The background of this picture was originally a grayish-green. It blackened over time.

Olivia remembered:
- The girl in the picture is turned to the side with her head looking toward her shoulder.
- She is wearing a yellow dress with a white collar, and a blue and white or cream color turban.
- The cream color fabric has a blue trim which matches the blue headband or scarf that goes around her head.
- She has a pearl earring that looks more like a silver ball that's floating next to her ear.
- The picture looks like it is cracked, like it is made out of glass, and that it will shatter at any moment.
- She has a bright transparent lipstick on.
- The background is just black.
- Her expression on her face looks like she is very relaxed or calm.
- Her eyes look like they are gray or silver.
- Her eyes are open so you can't see if she is wearing eyeshadow. Her eyelids are open all the way because you can see her eyes.
- She is pale, but not an unhealthy pale. Her face is flawless, except you can see all the cracks from the paint on it.
- Her mouth is slightly open and you can see a little bit of her teeth. She is not smiling all the way, just a tiny bit.

Girl Asleep at a Table
1657
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York

Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there is a girl asleep at a table.
- She is wearing brown clothes with white; and her face definitely has a heart-shape to it because of the widow's peak.
- Her head is supported by her hand that is propped up on the table. She is sitting in a chair that has some nail heads in it.
- There is another chair that is not occupied and you can see the back of it. There are five diamond shapes on the back, and there is something else covering the back of the chair, but I don't know what. It almost looks like a hide.
- The table is covered in a red-blue tablecloth with a pattern on it.
- There is a jug on the table along with some fruit, bread, and some green plants that almost look like celery or rhubarb.
- Part of the tablecloth appears to be lifted up and bunched up on the table which allows you to see the fringe that is along the tablecloth.
- There is a doorway, with the door partially opened; and you can see into the next room that there is a table against the wall and there is picture above the table and a window next to the picture.
- In the main room with the girl, there is a picture behind her along with a cloth or coat hanging behind her.
- There looks like there another smaller table to the left of her with a metal rod above it.

Lady with Her Maidservant
1667-1668
The Frick Collection, New York, New York

Olivia remembered:
- In the picture, there are two women. One is sitting at a table and the other one is standing and holding out a piece of paper that could be a letter.
- The one holding the letter is dressed in a brown sweater with a white undershirt and a blue skirt or blue apron.
- The one who is sitting is dressed in yellow and has a yellow shawl or little coat with fur on the trim.
- She looks like she is writing letters to people.
- The table has a blue tablecloth with a box on top of it and a wooden pallet with stuff in it. The wood is a holder for these gold little things.
- The one who is dressed in yellow has an orange stripe going down the front of her dress, and her hair is pulled back into a bun while the bangs are curled.
- She almost has a thoughtful expression because her hand is up by her chin.
- The maid - her cheeks are very rosy - almost like she put on too much blush. Her hair is pulled up.
- The fur is white with little black dots on it.
- The background is black or dark brown so you can't see anything. The main focus is the two women.