Vermeer painted slowly and carefully, producing about two paintings in a full year. In the whole world there are only about 36 paintings by Johannes Vermeer of Delft.
Some people have fallen in love with the magic and radiation of Vermeer’s paintings and have decided to travel all over the world, from Boston to Dresden and from Dublin to Washington DC, crossing the land. Arguably the best are on display in Vienna, Amsterdam, and The Hague. This type of hypnotized fan pilgrimage and tour is quite feasible, as practically all the paintings are now in public collections and can be viewed during opening hours after purchasing the entrance ticket.
Do you recognize a work of his youthful style, when Vermeer was in his twenties in 1653? Or is it in fact a late work like the one in Dublin?
Standing in front of a real Vermeer painting … what do you really see and what do you fully appreciate? Do you see the technical magic in the way he used the paint, layer upon layer of enamels, with the light bouncing between these layers? Did you use wet-on-wet or wet-on-dry on a certain part of the paint?
What can be recognized within the image, what is the history, psychology and what physical objects can be distinguished? What is the level of reality? How does this “photographic reality” relate to his list of private assets, which he left after his death in 1675? Many viewers get the idea that what Vermeer shows us are views of his own private home with marble floors and all. In fact, what he sometimes does is paint luxurious rooms, improve the interior by filling it with luxury items that do not belong to him: musical instruments, architectural details …
And what about the meaning of the objects and scenes, according to what we now think and according to the available knowledge of the current books of his time … what would be the meaning of the scenes represented by Vermeer according to those contemporary sources?
Do you really recognize the fullness of artistic choices and visual tricks he put into it to elevate a painting to a fine work of art?
If you do, visualization can become the thrill of your life.
If you find that all of that is a bit lacking, you can dive into serious art books and head out for a breath after two months of reading. You can also read the novel Girl with the pearl earring and not knowing how many factual misconceptions it contains. Alternatively, you can click widely on the internet and see what you get in terms of knowledge, information, sophisticated theories, and misinformation.
Finally, you can ask a specialist to stand by your side and see what knowledge and passion they can produce. To really “understand” it, it may take a specialist to learn to see and fully appreciate it. I am that kind of art historian.
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