Born: 1632
Died: 1675
Summary of Johannes Vermeer
With his Girl with a Pearl Earring painting, Vermeer is now synonymous with what has been dubbed the “Mona Lisa of the North.” It’s hard to think about Dutch Golden Age painting without thinking of Rembrandt’s 17th-century depiction of an ordinary girl with a brilliant pearl on her lobe peering out from a strange, dark backdrop. It was Vermeer’s life’s work to explore daily tenderness, capturing intimate mental and physical places that typified the Baroque period. However, his command of colour and light lifted the artist beyond the level of his contemporaries, offering a unique window into the way of life during his prosperous historical period.
With his household scenes, Vermeer played a key role in the development of the Baroque canon. Many of his works include furniture or themes from his own studio, and his subjects were often people he knew personally or relatives of clients who served as inspiration for the paintings.
It was only after his death that Vermeer’s careful attention to expressing the way light interacted with flesh, textiles, and precious stones earned him the posthumous title of “Master of Light.” Using Renaissance methods like chiaroscuro and his own distinctive use of light, shadow, and paint, he was able to elicit texture, depth, and emotion in his work.
Vermeer was fascinated by colors and pigments, and he was well-known for his masterful blending of ethereal hues. Some say Pieter van Rujiven, the artist’s longtime patron, purchased and supplied costly materials like lapis lazuli and carmine for his endeavours. As devoted as he was to his treasured materials, it’s no surprise that the painter started to descend into debt during this period.
A moderately successful artist during his lifetime, Vermeer only left 34 works that can be credited to him today (a few more are in doubt). This shows the artist’s careless approach to his profession, which would ultimately leave him and his family in debt and despondent.
Due to Vermeer’s history of mental illness, it’s been hypothesized that the serene idylls he painted may have been a reflection of the world he wanted to live.
Biography of Johannes Vermeer
In October 1632, Johannes Vermeer was born into a lower-middle-class family in Delft, a commercial Dutch city. Reijnier Jansz, his father, was a diligent weaver who later became an innkeeper and art dealer. The only way his mother, Digna Baltus, could write her name on her marriage certificate was with an “x,” leading some to believe she was an uneducated housewife.
Despite Vermeer’s fame as a painter, it seems that crime was ingrained in his blood. Before the painter was born, his father was tried and acquitted for the manslaughter of a soldier in an inn fight in 1625. According to others, the acquittal was given due to the attacker and Guild of St. Luke master painter’s friendship. Forgery led to the arrest and imprisonment of the artist’s paternal grandfather. It should come as no surprise that Vermeer’s adult life would be filled with hiccups and run-ins with the police.
Early Life
Vermeer’s father may have registered his son as an apprentice painter in the mid-1640s, paying the high fees to guarantee his son had a bright future. It’s difficult to say who apprenticed Vermeer because of a paucity of documentation, although Rembrandt’s star student, Carel Fabritius, has been suggested by some historians to have given his early instruction. However, there are some who believe that Pieter van Groenwegen, a Delft-born and Guild of St. Luke-bred artist, was his mentor.
A well-to-do Catholic family in Delft arranged for Vermeer to marry Catherina Bolnes in 1653. After Vermeer converted to Catholicism, his parents agreed to the marriage despite their differing Christian views. Vermeer’s only portrayal of a Biblical story, Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (1654-55), was painted to show his love to his newly discovered faith and in-laws. Due to the social mobility he experienced after marrying Catherina, it’s said that after they were married, Vermeer even cut off communication with his own family while residing in the mansion of his domineering mother-in-law.
When Vermeer married in the same year his father became a master painter in the Guild of St. Luke, he had access to a slew of clients and contacts that helped him further his career. He was influenced by artists like Rembrandt, the Italian Caravaggio, and the Utrecht Caravaggisti painters like Gerrit van Honthorst and Dirck van Baburnen in his early works.
While Vermeer was out of the house one day in 1663, his pregnant wife Catherina was accosted by her husband’s obnoxious brother Willem, who returned and threatened to stab her with a sharp metal rod. The maidservant of the Vermeers stood between the attackers and the mother and unborn child, saving them both. After allegedly calling Catherina and her mother “she-devil” and shouting “old popish swine” Willem was arrested and imprisoned till the end of his life, according to court documents. Interestingly, Vermeer’s artwork did not reflect the tragic and violent events of his life. Contrary to popular belief, Vermeer’s paintings of peaceful idyll depict a world in which he may have wanted to live himself
Vermeer was able to paint for his own amusement because of the riches of his wife’s family, rather than to support his family like most other painters did, and he never took on students or apprentices. The Milkmaid’s skirt was painted with lapis lazuli, while The Girl with a Wineglass’ clothing was painted with rich carmine, both costly pigments employed by the artist. While some have speculated that Pieter van Ruijven, Vermeer’s longtime sponsor, purchased and provided the artist with these coveted materials, it is probably not unexpected that the painter started his own financial downfall around this time as well.
Late Life
The invasion of the Dutch Republic by the armies of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom in 1672 was known as “The Year of Disaster,” in Dutch history. As a result, the once-prosperous nation of the middle class suffered a catastrophic economic collapse. The art market crashed, and Vermeer was left struggling to support his family of eleven children, his wife, and her mother. Desperate to pay off his mounting debt, he took out loan after loan for tens of thousands of guilders until he was finally exposed.
He died on the 16th of December, 1675, after a period of mental instability and despair. His wife said in court documents that “the war with France prevented him from selling any of his work, and to make matters worse, he was left sitting with the paintings of other artists that he was trading in. He lost his business and his reputation as a result. The consequence was that he fell into decay and decadence, which he took so seriously that he went from being healthy to dead in a day and a half, as if he’d gone into a frenzy. “He had no means of supporting his children.”
For the most part, Vermeer was forgotten about until the 19th century, when French painters such as Édouard Manet began to focus on the honest and down-to-earth aspects of life. Vermeer’s ability to capture the beauty of everyday life had a profound impact on these artists, who in turn helped to raise awareness of the master’s work. Only 34 of Vermeer’s works have been discovered, yet even so, he is regarded as one of the finest painters of the Dutch Golden Age.
Salvador Dali, a Surrealist artist, was inspired by Vermeer’s work in the 20th century and created his own versions, including 1934’s The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft, which may be used as a table, and 1955’s The Lacemaker (After Vermeer).
The Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershi, for example, used Vermeer’s serene home interiors as inspiration for his own work in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Woman in Blue, by Vermeer, has been updated by Hammershi. Reversing the picture and using a muted color palette give the impression that the viewer is gazing at an early snapshot of a Danish home environment in Reading a Letter.
Girl with a Pearl Earring is known as the “Mona Lisa of the North.” It is one of several of his famous works. Over the years, its startling realism and emotional ambiguity have served as an inspiration to many artists, writers, and filmmakers. It was also reimagined and recreated in Bristol, UK, by anonymous British graffiti artist Banksy, using a burglar alarm as opposed to the famous pearl earrings.
Johannes Vermeer Facts
Who Influenced Johannes Vermeer?
As a result of his marriage to a Catholic, Vermeer was exposed to the work of Italian masters like Caravaggio. His mother-in-law, Maria, was an avid collector of the work of many Utrecht-based Catholic artists. Caravaggio’s work was closely followed by the Utrecht art school, which in turn inspired artists in Delft.
How Did Johannes Vermeer Die?
He racked up debts of thousands of guilders and was even caught stealing from his mother-in-law. When Vermeer died in 1675, he was suffering from a severe case of depression and psychosis.
When Was Johannes Vermeer Born?
Vermeer was born in October 1632
When Did Johannes Vermeer Die?
Vermeer died on December 1675
How Old Was Johannes Vermeer When He Died?
Johannes Vermeer was 43 when he died
How Many Children Did Johannes Vermeer Have?
Johannes Vermeer had 11 children: Maria, Elisabeth, Cornelia, Aleydis, Beatrix, Johannes, Gertruyd, Franciscus, Catharina, Ignatius, and one whose name is unknown.
How Many Paintings did Johannes Vermeer Paint?
Despite the fact that only 36 of Vermeer’s oil paintings have been preserved, it is likely that he created no more than 60 in total.
How Much are Vermeer Paintings Worth?
At Sotheby’s in New York, a painting by Dutch master Johannes Vermeer that had been rumored to be a fake for decades sold for $30 million.
How many Vermeer paintings are missing?
According to the historical record, there are six “missing” Vermeer paintings that cannot be accounted for by modern attribution.
To a Large Extent, Vermeer was Self-Taught.
Delft, in southern Holland, was the birthplace of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer in 1632. As an innkeeper and an art dealer, his father’s business evolved from a silk merchant to a silk merchant. As a child, Vermeer is thought to have apprenticed under Carel Fabritius as a result of his family’s business interests. Vermeer, on the other hand, was largely self-taught because his father was in debt at the time.
Vermeer Lived in Delft his Whole Life.
In 1653, Johannes Vermeer married a Catholic woman and moved into his mother-in-law’s house, where he lived for a while. The rest of his life, he would work as a painter and die at the age of 43.
His love for his hometown shows in Little Street, one of the two landscapes we have made by him that is in his hometown. People lived on Little Street in Delft in the 17th century, and it shows how people lived. Already, we can see some of the things he is best known for, like his attention to detail when taking pictures of the world around him.
In general, Vermeer is best known for painting scenes from the worlds of art.
Today, only 35 of Johannes Vermeer’s paintings are known to be his. Most of them are scenes from everyday life, like this one. They are mostly women who are doing things like reading a letter or pouring milk, but he also has some men in the picture. There is a window to the left of the room, where many of the paintings were done. When he works, he is very interested in light. It’s natural for him to use light and shadow to shape the features of the people he paints. In addition, the camera obscura, which was a precursor to the camera, helped him become more interested in the little things. Because of The Milkmaid, we see a woman pouring milk through the window of her kitchen. Everything in the kitchen is still there, and the young woman looks like a statue that is firmly planted in the ground. The only thing that moves is the stream of milk. Vermeer used light and shadow to make the young woman look like she is in the kitchen. Make sure you look at her right hand, the one that’s gripping the lid, or at the white line that separates her from the wall.
Famous Art by Johannes Vermeer
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary
1654-1656
Christ sits in the home of his close friends, the sisters Martha and Mary, in this artwork. Mary sits peacefully and happily at Jesus’ feet, listening to him preach, while Martha is busy cleaning, cooking, and serving the son of God. Martha chastises Christ for not urging the other sister to help with the housework, but Christ responds that although Martha is “worried and upset by many things,” Mary simply needs “only one,” which is the word of God. Mary was thought to be a symbol for the quiet, contemplative life of Protestantism, which required only the word of God. Martha was thought to be a personification of the active Catholic path, where good deeds and humility led to salvation, whereas Mary was thought to be a symbol for the quiet, contemplative life of Catholicism, where good deeds and humility led to salvation.
The Procuress
1956
This picture of The Procuress seems like it was taken in a seedy brothel somewhere. The young lady on the right instantly catches the viewer’s attention due to her light yellow bodice, white lace headdress, and fair complexion. The woman’s gaze is fixed on her right open palm, where she will soon receive the currency from the red-clad guy. It’s obvious he’s in love with her, as shown by the way he’s curled his body around her and placed a hand on her breast. The wide brim of his feathered hat casts a shadow over much of his face, making it difficult to see. The usage of a feather on a hat in seventeenth-century Dutch popular culture had implications of lechery and sexual immorality, which Vermeer drew on to accentuate the painting’s sultry mood. An additional undertone is provided by the guy, who is believed to be Vermeer, holding a stringed instrument, perhaps a cittern, and so giving off an unmistakably phallic vibe. In a black beret and perhaps a silk doublet with torn sleeves, the guy on the left is clothed. In the previous century, these objects were fashionable, and their inclusion in the picture would have shocked the painting’s initial viewers. It’s possible that this guy, by making eye contact with the audience, is trying to entice them into the scenario and make them complicit in the transaction. The painting’s inanimate elements also communicate information about the scene. An example of a Turkish carpet in a European portrait painting is Hans Holbein the Younger’s The Ambassadors (c.1533), which seems to be draped over a staircase.
The Officer and the Laughing Girl
1657-1660
For decades, this depiction of 17th-century Dutch life has polarized opinion. Art historians can’t tell if the young woman is a prostitute greeting a customer or a love-struck young lady. Her covered décolletage and headdress suggest that she is the daughter of a well-to-do Dutch mercantile family who has just met a dashing young officer. The map of The Hague, Netherlands, behind her head suggests that she is worldly, but her covered décolletage and headdress suggest that she is the daughter of a well-to-do Dutch mercantile family who has just met a dashing young officer.
The View of Delft
1660-1661
At a time when the Dutch economy, technology, and art world were all booming, Vermeer captured the tranquility of city life during the Dutch Golden Age. Ships moored in their slips after a thunder and rain storm are seen with their sails folded up, creating the appearance of a dawn picture with heavy clouds above. To the right and center of the picture are huge black ships, which represent the riches of the Dutch Republic, a country that prospered via ocean-going commercial and colonial commerce. Two sets of blocky, somberly clothed individuals are having a conversation in the foreground. To see the two ladies dressed so differently is jarring. People in the Netherlands are clothed in the traditional dark black clothing worn by the country’s proudly Protestant citizens. As for the second lady, she’s dressed similarly to the milkmaid from early Vermeer paintings like The Milkmaid, with a cadmium yellow bodice and a blue apron (c. 1658). The desolate foreground and the spiky metropolitan environment are separated by a grayish, calm river. The serene beauty of this cityscape, painted at a period when cityscapes were uncommon, evokes the idea of “heaven on earth,” according to art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon.
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter
1662-1663
Vermeer depicts a lady reading a freshly opened letter in this intimate setting. When she’s at home doing chores or resting in privacy, she wears a light blue bed jacket that’s likely silk. Her chair is pushed aside as if she has risen up in astonishment, and her facial expression shows that she is shocked. On the table in front of her, a pearl necklace and what seems to be the first portion of a letter are spread out. Pearls were regarded as a sign of virginity, vanity, and piety in modern Dutch pop culture, as well as money, thus we may interpret the pearls as a gift from a lover or a spouse. Some historians believe her round tummy was caused by the clothes she was wearing, which were popular at the time, while others believe it is due to her being pregnant. This, however, contrasts with other Vermeer paintings like Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, which shows a silhouetted woman (c. 1657–59). There is a map behind the lady, which suggests that she could be a pregnant wife anxiously awaiting the return of her wandering spouse. Unfortunately, her face makes it difficult to determine whether her spouse has delivered good or bad news.
The Music Lesson
1662-1665
The Music Lesson, one of Jan Vermeer’s most famous paintings, depicts the importance of music in his work. Like Vermeer, the Elder created scenes like these, although he was more of a portrait and genre painter than Vermeer himself. During the duet in Mieris’s The Duet (1658), a servant brings over a drink and a music book for the couple to enjoy as they make music together. Vermeer’s scene is less active than Mieris’, but he gave ambiguity to the action depicted in the picture as a result. A tutor may have been implied, but iconography shows that he might be someone else’s lover or a suitor, as opposed to her tutor in the title.
All About The Music Lesson by Johannes Vermeer
Girl with the Pearl Earring
1665
The Girl with a Pearl Earring is without a doubt the most well-known and recognisable picture in Northern Europe, and it is as iconic to the Dutch as da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is to the Italians. In it, the face of a young lady hovers against a black background, half-shadowed. She looks out at the audience with sparkling eyes and slightly parted lips, almost as if she’s ready to say something. It’s hard to tell if she’s turning towards or away from the viewer.
The careful attention to the way light played on skin, textiles, and precious stones earned Vermeer the posthumous title of “Master of Light,” and he was recognized for his delicate attention to the way light played on the girl’s cheek, eyes, and lips. Scholars have praised Vermeer’s use of light tones to indicate the many features of her face, noting the lack of a linear demarcation between the nose and cheek. Pale pink and white accents along the lips, meanwhile, make them look wet and squishy, contributing to the image’s aura of mysticism.
1670-1674
As he began, Vermeer concluded his creative career by painting a deeply, if not indisputable, Catholic picture. Theoretically, this painting was commissioned by Dutch Catholics for a third secret church, the so-called schuilkerk. It depicts a scenario as a woven tapestry, evoking the curtains that covered many Dutch churches during the Middle Ages. The repentant Mary Magdalene is shown on a high, altar-like platform dressed in white and blue to symbolize purity.
BULLET POINTED (SUMMARISED)
Best for Students and a Huge Time Saver
- Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring, dubbed the “Mona Lisa of the North.” is now synonymous with the term.
- An ordinary girl, sublimely looking at the observer from a mysterious black backdrop with a sparkling pearl atop her lobe, has become a global symbol in the canon of Dutch Golden Age artwork by the 17th century Dutch Master.
- Vermeer’s career was committed to chronicling delicate moments in ordinary life, capturing the private inner spaces of both mind and surroundings that typified the Baroque era.
- Vermeer specialised on home scenes, which he helped establish as a genre in the Baroque vocabulary.
- His models were frequently people he knew or relatives of customers, and many of his works feature the same furnishings or motifs that adorned his own private studio.
- Due to the careful attention he devoted to expressing the way light played upon flesh, textiles, and precious stones in his work, Vermeer was posthumously dubbed the “Master of Light” His skill came from combining Renaissance methods like chiaroscuro with his own unique use of light, shadow, and paint to convey texture, depth, and emotion.
- Vermeer was fascinated by colours and pigments, and he was recognised for his masterful blending of ethereal hues.
- Pieter van Rujiven, the artist’s long-time patron, is claimed to have purchased and furnished him with expensive materials like as lapis lazuli and carmine for his endeavours.
- Vermeer was a reasonably successful painter during his lifetime, but just 34 works are ascribed to him today (a few more are disputed), indicating the artist’s sloppy management of his profession, which finally led to bankruptcy and misery for him and his family.
- Because the artist’s life was marred by financial uncertainty, lunacy, and melancholy, it’s been speculated that the serene idylls he was renowned to depict represented a world that he, himself, longed to inhabit.
Born: 1632
Died: 1675
Information Citations:
En.wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/.
