Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch artist who lived and painted in the mid 1600s, in the city of Delft, and who created paintings that are among the most well known and loved images in art. Only about 37 of his paintings survive. Most of his later paintings, the most famous ones, picture scenes of daily life, a world of domestic tranquillity, where women and children go about their lives in their homes.
These paintings are amazing for their luminosity and purity of colour, conveying a serene, timeless quality. His works seem to be permeated with a sense of light.
Vermeer, like Rembrandt, was a master of chiaroscuro effects This means using strong contrasts between light and dark, which can give subjects volume and three-dimensional qualities. Have a look at the painting 'The Procuress' below for a good example of this technique.
Vermeer was also well versed in the laws of perspective and the placement of individual objects, such as chairs, tables, maps, and window frames, to suggest a sense of order. His thoughtfully chosen objects are never located randomly within the paintings; their positions, proportions, and colours complement the people being depicted. Radiant light bathes the images, supplying cohesion to the paintings.
Have a look at the examples below. Click on each image to see a larger view; click on the enlargement to shrink it. Art students should search images for information about how each was painted and what it represents.
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