Marina Nebro
November 16, 2013
Art History 220: Term Paper
The Love Letter VS. Young Woman with a Water Pitcher
Genre painting and artwork took the vernacular style of religious works and
introduced it to images and narratives of every day life. The main goal behind genre
scenes is for the viewer to relate to the figures within. The vernacular style plays to
the viewer’s sensibilities and allows for the artist to get certain messages or
meanings across. Fragonard’s The Love Letter and Vermeer’s Young Woman with a
Water Pitcher both carry iconographic and iconological values, though they differ
due to the artists’ locations and time periods.
The artists’ paintings styles differ dramatically. Jean Honoré Fragonard was
a French painter during the Rococo period of art. This era was known for its
ephemeral, light, and flirty quality. The Love Letter compliments the style of the
time, as the brush strokes are strong and visible. Most of the detail is centered on
the main figure, while the outskirts and fringes of the canvas remain almost
unfinished looking with their brown under-layer of paint. In Johannes Vermeer’s
Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, the brush strokes are hardly noticeable. All the
colors are well blended, and there is uniformity to the saturation and hue
throughout the canvas. Unlike the Rococo era, Vermeer worked during the Baroque
period, which was known for its strength and stability. Vermeer used mostly
primary colors – red, yellow, and blue – to ground the scene, while Fragonard
mainly utilizes soft and unsaturated pastel colors, which, again, heighten the flirty
and fleeting nature of the time.
On a side note, many Northern European painters were very influenced by
optics. As early as the Northern Renaissance, artists such as Jan van Eyck included
convex mirrors in their works to convey their scientific savvy. Vermeer, though
painting later than van Eyck, similarly displays his understanding of light and
reflection. It is believed that he used a camera obscura, a precursor to later
photographic techniques, which projected images onto a wall or canvas to better aid
painters in depicting detail. If looked at carefully, details such as the highlights on
the pearls and on the metal water pitcher can be seen. Such intricate detail is not,
however, visible in Fragonard’s work.
Despite having been painted in drastically different times, both paintings
have several features in common. Both artists employed the use of oil paint,
allowing them the possibility of rich colors and intricate detail. The light source for
each of the oil paintings is similar, as the window illuminates the scene from the left
side of the canvas. Though accomplished differently, this light highlights the main
figure in the piece. Fragonard highlights his leading lady by adding color and white
to her figure to contrast with the darker brown of the room, and Vermeer uses the
contrast of lights and darks, or a subtle chiaroscuro, to emphasize the woman’s
features. His shadows, though, aren’t completely dark, as he employs the use of
dark blue instead of black, which enables him to further strengthen the foundation
and harmony of the piece.
The differences and similarities do not just end in the form and composition
of the paintings. The iconographic or narrative elements of the pieces are greatly
contrasting as well. As mentioned above, the Rococo period is fraught with
flirtatious imagery. Other works by Fragonard, such as The Swing, show the intense,
yet latent or suppressed, sexual desires of the aristocratic class. In The Love Letter,
similar themes arise. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is adamant in creating the
distinction between portraiture and genre painting. This particular image is
described as not being a portrait because of its narrative elements.1 The viewer
interrupts the young woman, as she seems to sniff and enjoy her bouquet of flowers,
holding the secret letter of an admirer in her hands. She acknowledges the voyeur
with a coy gaze, almost tauntingly with the knowledge of who her lover is. Her body
is hunched over her writing desk, further hiding what she wants to keep from us.
There is a strong parallel between her figure and the fluffy mass that is her dog.
Both stare at the viewer with a strong gaze, both are positioned in a protective way,
as if to hide something. Dogs often symbolize companionship and loyalty. Perhaps
the dog, here, represents the loyalty she has to her secret and hidden admirer.
Vermeer’s young lady, unlike the flirtatious beast in The Love Letter, does
not pay any attention to the onlooker. She is completely distracted and engulfed in
her household chores – she opens the window at the break of dawn while getting
the house clean and ready for the coming day. Surrounding her in the quite plain
space are objects of great interest. The first item of note, as the title implies, is the
silver water pitcher as it shimmers in the morning sun. Underneath the valuable
pitcher is an oriental rug, doubling as a tablecloth. On the far right of the canvas,
one can see a string of pearls emerging from what seems to be a jewelry box. All of
these objects depict and symbolize the wealth of the Dutch people at this time. With
1
Wall Plaque – Metropolitan Museum of Art
exploration, shown in this image through the use of a map hanging on the wall, the
people of the Netherlands were able to experience the riches of the world.
Both of these strong female characters are contemporary figures at the time
when Fragonard and Vermeer were painting. They are not conveying a long lost
ideal of Greco-Roman beauty or religious purity. The women are harkening to a
modern archetype. In an attempt to explain the cultural context in a lucid manner, it
is necessary to now first mention Vermeer’s painting, which was completed in 1662.
Though quite after the Protestant Reformation, the work of Vermeer coincided with
the Baroque era, known for its strong relationship with the Counter or Catholic
Reformation. In Northern Europe at the time, specifically in the Netherlands, the
religion of choice and preference was Protestantism. Vermeer’s Young Woman with
a Water Pitcher plays to the contemporary Protestant ideal. She displays the
Protestant work ethic, as she busies herself with household chores. She is modest,
as she doesn’t address the viewer or painter, and instead keeps to herself. She does,
however, display wealth, riches, and knowledge – consequences and effects of said
work ethic. According to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Vermeer has painted the
ideal woman of the home.2 This image, viewed by contemporary Netherlandish
women, should have influenced them to be better mothers, housewives, and
Protestants.
Fragonard’s The Love Letter, completed around the year 1770, is part of an
art era that rejected the strength and power of the Baroque. There was always
tension between the church or religious power and the secular, royal, and noble
2
Wall Plaque – Metropolitan Museum of Art
powers. The Rococo era was a reaction to the strong, heavy-handed power of the
church and of the king – this would have been Louis XIV in France. First of all, the
Sun King’s successors were hardly as charismatic and powerful as he was. The
nobility were gaining power by the day. The Rococo period was an art period for
the aristocracy. Focus was taken away from power and control, and put more
towards love, fun, and frivolousness. Unlike Vermeer’s young woman, the
protagonist in Fragonard’s work isn’t as much of a model or ideal woman as she is a
fantasy.
At first glance, the subjects of the paintings by Fragonard and Vermeer may
seem quite similar – lone women preoccupied by feminine activities. On a deeper
level, though, it is obvious that both artworks convey greater meaning about
contemporary and modern society. These two paintings conflict and contrast
greatly due to their time and geographic disparity. Both, however, are great
contributions to the vernacular style of genre painting.