Johannes Vermeer, Johannes also rendered Jan, (baptized October 31, 1632, Delft, Netherlands—buried

December 16, 1675, Delft), Dutch artist who created paintings that are among the most beloved and
revered images in the history of art. Although only about 36 of his paintings survive, these rare works
are among the greatest treasures in the world’s finest museums. Vermeer began his career in the early
1650s by painting large-scale biblical and mythological scenes, but most of his later paintings—the ones
for which he is most famous—depict scenes of daily life in interior settings. These works are remarkable
for their purity of light and form, qualities that convey a serene, timeless sense of dignity. Vermeer also
painted cityscapes and allegorical scenes.

Delft, where Vermeer was born and spent his artistic career, was an active and prosperous place in the
mid-17th century, its wealth based on its thriving delftware factories, tapestry-weaving ateliers, and
breweries. Within Delft’s city walls were picturesque canals and a large market square, which was
flanked by the imposing town hall and the soaring steeple of the Nieuwe Kerk (“New Church”). It was
also a venerable city with a long and distinguished past. Delft’s strong fortifications, city walls, and
medieval gates had furnished defense for more than three centuries and, during the Dutch revolt
against Spanish control, had provided refuge for William I, prince of Orange, from 1572 until his death in
1584.

Works

Paints Woman with a Water Jug

Woman with a Water Jug, also known as Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, is a painting finished
between 1660-1662 by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer in the Baroque style.

It is oil on canvas, 45,7cm x 40,6 cm, and is on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

This painting is one of a closely related group painted in the early to mid 1660s where the artist appears
to be moving away from an emphasis on linear perspective and geometric order. He seems to be moving
to a simpler form using only one figure and emphasizing the use of light.

This is what perfection looks like. Vermeer’s Young Woman with a Water Pitcher is a perfect painting,
perfectly composed and exquisitely executed. Even the finest reproductions cannot capture the exact
tone of its lovely blue-white light, and even the most carefully chosen words cannot describe its silent,
astonishing beauty. Its power is out of all proportion to its size. No 18 by 16in. piece of cloth covered
with pigment should be this impressive. Discussion seems superfluous. What more is there to say about
something that is perfect in itself? I think of a passage from Nietzsche’s Twilight of the Idols that should
haunt anyone who tries to write about great art: "Whatever we have words for, that we have already
got beyond. In all talk there is a grain of contempt. Language, it seems, was invented only for what is
average, medium, communicable." In this Vermeer we see the ordinary raised to a poetry beyond
words. There is beauty and mystery here that we cannot touch. The old cliche is true: words fail...

1665-1667

Earring

The painting Girl with a Pearl Earring (Dutch: Het Meisje met de Parel) is one of Dutch painter Johannes
Vermeer's masterworks and as the name implies, uses a pearl earring for a focal point.

The painting is in The Mauritshuis in The Hague. It is sometimes referred to as "the Mona Lisa of the
North" or "the Dutch Mona Lisa".

In general, very little is known about Vermeer and his works. This painting is signed "IVMeer" but not
dated. It is unclear whether this work was commissioned, and if so, by whom. In any case, it is probably
not meant as a conventional portrait.

More recent Vermeer literature points to the image being a 'tronie', the Dutch 17th-century description
of a ’head’ that was not meant to be a portrait. After the most recent restoration of the painting in 1994
the subtle colour scheme and the intimacy of the girl’s gaze on to the spectator has been greatly
enhanced.

On the advice of Victor de Stuers, who for years tried to prevent Vermeer's rare works from being sold
to parties abroad, A.A. des Tombe purchased the work at an auction in The Hague in 1881 for only two
guilders and thirty cents. At the time, its condition was very bad. Des Tombe had no heirs and donated
this and other paintings to the Mauritshuis in 1902.

In 1937, a very similar painting, Smiling Girl, at the time also thought to be by Vermeer, was donated by
collector Andrew W. Mellon to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. It is now widely
considered to be a fake. Vermeer expert Arthur Wheelock claimed in a 1995 study that it is by 20th-
century artist and forger Theo van Wijngaarden, a friend of Han van Meegeren.

The background of the Girl with a Pearl Earring does not appear as it did when Vermeer painted it some
340 years ago. Recent analysis demonstrates that the artist had painted a transparent "glaze" of green
paint over the dark underpainting. Originally, the background must have appeared a smooth, glossy,
hard and deep translucent green. This tone set against the warm flesh tone probably produced a more
vibrant optical effect than the one which can be observed today. The green glaze was composed of
three pigments: indigo (a natural die from the indigo plant) and weld (a natural die from the yellow
flowers of the woud plant widely used to die clothes in Vermeer's day).

1665

Johannes Vermeer Paints Girl with a Red Hat

Aside from the expectant expression on the young woman's face, much of the vivacity of this
extraordinary painting stems from the manner which it is painted.

The reflections of light take shape as pale, densely applied brushstrokes of white and yellow paint which
animate the surfaces of the different objects and materials and bring them close to the picture surface,
reminding us that we in looking at a painted object in contrast to these strongly lit areas, the red hat and
blue garment are painted over darker under layers, which give the colors warmth. The sumptuousness
of the materials and the depth and intensity of the color range used by Vermeer contributed to the
sense of warmth which is a key element in this work's aesthetic.

"Coming upon this painting in the exhibition, the viewer is confronted with an abrupt change from the
other works. "The Girl with the Red Hat" is small even by Vermeer's standards; it is his only known work
that was executed on wood panel; and most importantly, its immediacy and intimacy contrast sharply
with the meditative mood of the other paintings.

"Despite its modest dimensions, a strong visual impact results from the large scale of the girl. Brought
close to the picture plane, she communicates directly with the viewer. Her direct gaze and slightly
parted lips impart a sense of spontaneity and anticipation. Vermeer relies heavily on color to establish
the mood of the work. The red of the hat and the blue of the robe contrast strongly with the muted
background. The bright red of the hat advances, heightening the immediacy of the girl's glance, while
the blue of the robe recedes, balancing the composition. Vermeer retained warmth in the robe by
painting the blue over a reddish-brown ground. The materials - the red hat, robe and chair finials - are
animated by highlights of reflected light. Subtle highlights on the girl's eye and mouth animate her
expression. Finally, the intense white of the girl's cravat, painted as a thick impasto with parts later
chipped off, cradles her face, focusing attention on her expression.

1665-1674

Johannes Vermeer Paints Portrait of a Young Woman

In the 1696 sale catalogue of paintings owned by Jacob Dissius, the son-in-law of Vermeer's patron
Pieter van Ruijven, "a tronie in antique dress, uncommonly artful" is listed as number 38 and is followed
by 39.

Another ditto [tronie by] Vermeer," and "4-0. A pendant of the same". Almost any costume with a bolt
of material thrown aver the shoulder could explain the reference to a figure as in "antique" dress, which
meant merely outdated, not necessarily classical. The entire costume in the present painting from the
Wrightsman collection or in Girl with a Red Hat, and the headgear in Girl with a Pearl Earring (upper
right) in the Mauritshuis, would have been termed antique by Dutch critics and cataloguers of the
seventeenth century, quite as the costumes in Diana and Her Companions could have been so
described.

A curious, enigmatic portrait. It is hard to believe that this is a Vermeer. At first glance, it seems
distasteful. The young girl is not pretty. But, one is all the more mesmerized the more one looks at it, the
more one studies the extraordinarily wide-spaced eyes, the too thin lips and the compensating richness
of the blue and white clothing. The Young Girl With Turban provokes an immediate esthetic and sensual
feeling of belonging.

1669-1679

Paints The Lacemaker

The Lacemaker is a painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), completed between
1669–1670 and held in the Louvre, Paris.

The work shows a young woman dressed in a yellow shawl bent in concentration as she sews the
threads of a dress. At 24.5 cm x 21 cm (9.6 in x 8.3 in), the work is the smallest of Vermeer's paintings,
however in many ways it is one of his most abstract and unusual.
The girl is set against a blank wall, likely because the artist sought to eliminate any external distractions
from the central image. As with his The Astronomer (1668) and The Geographer (1669), it is obvious that
the artist undertook careful study before he executed the work; the art of lacemaking is portrayed
closely and accurately. Vermeer likely used a camera obscura while composing the work; many optical
effects typical of photography can be seen, in particular the blurring of the foreground. By rendering
areas of the canvas as out-of-focus, Vermeer is able to suggest depth of field in a manner unusual of
Dutch Baroque painting of the era.

In The Lacemaker, the artist presents the various elements which compose both the girl's face and body
as well as the pattern of the material she is working on in an abstract manner. The girl's hands, the curls
of her hair and the T-cross which form her eyes and nose are all described in an abstract manner
unusual for the era in which Vermeer worked. In addition, the red and white of the lace is shown as
spilling from the sewing cushion with physical properties suggesting a near liquid form. The blurring of
these threads contrasts sharply with the precision of the lace she is shown working on.

Paints The Allegory of the Faith

An unusually large canvas for Vermeer, this is one of the two known paintings of his that have explicitly
allegorical content.

Vermeer had converted to Catholicism at the time of his marriage, and this work may have been
commissioned by a Catholic institution.

The subject matter for this allegory obviously did not suit Vermeer's taste. In the Art of Painting
(Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna), he produced, in spite of the intrusion of iconographic material, a
composition that conveyed a psychological approach joined to artistic execution. Even so, it was not
really as successful as other works that imply thoughtfulness or meditation.

The Allegory of Faith is fraught with details that evidently were prescribed by the spiritual fathers
(probably the Jesuits, although the first known owner of the painting was a Protestant) of the
composition, but that did not fit into an artistic image with which Vermeer could cope.

One of these two paintings, probably the first one mentioned above, is shown by Vermeer in the
background of his painting 'Allegory of Faith'. The original painting is that by Jacob Jordaens, Crucifixion,
c. 1620, now in a private collection, Terningh collection, Antwerp. Vermeer may have owned a simplified
and smaller copy.

It is quite remarkable that this painting was not exhibited in the Great Hall 'Groote zael', room I, but in
the much smaller inner kitchen 'binnekeucken'. In this room also hung the gold tooled-leather, also
shown in the 'Allegory of Faith.