Location: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Oil on Canvas - 16" x 15" (41 x 38 cm)
Year: 1667 - 1668
Girl with a Flute, probably 1665/1670
National Gallery of Art
The Geographer, 1669
Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer of Delft
also known as Jan Vermeer or
Johannes van der Meer
Art in the Classroom
Ms Freeman’s class
December 12, 2006
Johannes Vermeer
• Born in 1632 in Delft in
The Netherlands
• His father was a silk
weaver and an art dealer
• Live in Delft all of his life
• Painted only ~35 works!
• Was not famous during his
life
• Known for genre paintings
Vermeer: 'View of Delft', oil on canvas, 96,5 x 115,7 cm.
Copyright Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen Mauritshuis, The Hague.
Johannes Vermeer of Delft
also known as Jan Vermeer or
Johannes van der Meer
• Genre painting
• Use of light
• Careful planning
THE LACEMAKER
by Jan Vermeer
1632-1675
Girl Reading a Letter
The Milkmaid, 1658
Genre paintings
Genre paintings show scenes of everyday life
• Ordinary people engaged in common activities.
• Main character is engaged in everyday activity:
- reading a letter
- pouring out milk
•Small acts of everyday life showing drama of the subject's life
The Art of Painting, 1665
A Lady Writing,1665,
Woman Holding a Balance,1664
National Gallery of Art
Light
-
Fills the scene
Often enters from a window
Often from the left side of the canvas
Were all paintings created in a corner of the same room?
Shows how light illuminates objects
Careful planning
• Each object has meaning
- Map on wall
maps were very
expensive, and to own
such a map = wealth
and education
Officer and Laughing Girl
Rich colors:
oriental turban
silk garments
Dutch attained
most of their
wealth through
merchant trade
with the east.
Girl With Pearl Earring, 1665
Johannes Vermeer of Delft
also known as Jan Vermeer or
Johannes van der Meer
• Genre painting
• Use of light
• Careful planning
THE LACEMAKER
by Jan Vermeer
1632-1675
Genre painting
Engaged in daily activity
Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a
Balance , c. 1664, National Gallery of Art
Light
Light flows from a
window, highlights her
hand, sleeve, face
It washes across the wall,
revealing a painting
In the center hangs a
balance, empty but for
the light itself
Johannes Vermeer, Woman Holding a
Balance , c. 1664, National Gallery of Art
Careful planning
Her finger is the
central point in
the picture
Careful planning
Balance point of scales
is exactly at the center
of the painting
The woman’s hands, jewelry
and tabletop form a pyramid
This imaginary pyramid
supports the woman's
hand and encloses the
balance
Thick and thin paints were used to show light on different textures
The face is painted with
tiny brushstrokes and
finely ground paint
Paint on the sleeve
changes from thin to
thick, as the highlights
vary from soft to
intense.
The texture of wool is
achieved by dragging
a layer of coarse
orange paint over
yellow paint,leaving
an irregular edge.
Chasing Vermmer
by Blue Balliett
Johannes Vermeer, A Lady Writing, c. 1665.
oil on canvas
A Lady Writing is featured in a popular
children's book about Johannes Vermeer.
Art in the Classroom: Vermeer Activity
• Draw an indoors genre picture
• Make light come through a window/door
What could we use for a genre picture?
-Reading
-Playing piano
-Cooking
-Talking on the phone
-Working on the computer
-Going to bed
-Playing
The Milkmaid, 1658
The Art of Painting, 1665 Girl with the Red Hat 1665/1666