Stella Lemmond Object Annotation 10

Context:

This oil on canvas work was painted by Johannes Vermeer, and depicts an artist painting a woman dressed in blue. The work shows Vermeer, the artist, painting the woman in blue, Clio. Clio was one of the muses, and represented art, history, and fame. She is traditionally depicted as she is in this work, holding a horn and a book. This is an allegorical work that represents Vermeer's personal style, as well as his well known role in the art world, as he paints one of the muses. Vermeer was located in Delft, Netherlands and was part of the Delft School, a group of painters in Delft that were known for realism and their skill of painting light.

Subject:

This work is an allegorical piece that represents Vermeer's position in the art market as a key force. Because of the allegorical nature of the work there are many symbols within the piece. Many of these symbols can be seen repeated not only in other works by Vermeer, but many other well known artists at the time. Eric Jan Sluijter calls these often reused subjects “emulative imitation” which he defines as “the repetition of related motifs by different painters.” These often repeated subjects include women opening letters, and women playing keyboard instruments, both of which Vermeer portrayed in his works. One reason that Sluijiter argues that there is so much repetition between works is the way that artists were trained at the time. He describes artists as “ learning through rapen (gathering),” so that they could complete their own works using elements of the masters. Another factor that increased repetitive subject matter was the extremely competitive art market. Artists were encouraged to paint similar subjects so that their works could be compared. Sluijiter states that this is because of “the driving force of rivalry and the decisive role of discerning patrons.” Art connoisseurs were able to recognise and compare these motifs across the different artists and find their place within it. Sluijiter also importantly draws a boundary between imitation and emulation, stating that emulation was used to provoke further competition and comparison between artists. He states that “By choosing elements from the canon and then analysing, digesting and judiciously imitating them, these artists emphatically situated themselves into the history of art.”

Style:

This work is an allegorical domestic scene that portrays an artist at work. On the viewers left there is a curtain being pulled back and revealing the intimate scene. This work also includes a window, which was a common motif for Vermeer to use in his works. It casts a soft elegant light across the figures. The scene has been rendered with extreme realism, which is especially evident in the delicate lighting, and the textural detail within the tapestry. Another striking visual component of this work is Vermeer’s use of pointillite, a technique that adds stippling or doting on objects to make them appear shiny or reflective. We can see this in the bolts on the chair in the foreground, the fabric draped on the table, within the threads of the tapestry, and on the bolts on the chair behind the painter's canvas. This small detail lends the work dimension, and gives it a strong sense of realism and visual style. The perspective within this work is reinforced by the tiled floors that bring the viewer into the scene. This work was likely made partially using the camera obscura, which let Vermeer see objects in a room in relation to each other, and visually map out the work. Vermeer also utilizes repoussoir, establishing a boundary between the darker foreground and the well lit background. In this work Vermeer has used the curtain, chair and table on the left to create this barrier. Vermeer utilized the houding technique, which juxtaposes two contrasting elements. This is evident in this work within the artist's outfit, the light and dark fabrics create a strong tonal contrast, and draws the viewers eyes to the detail that the fabric has been given.