![]() In the 1650s, just before he left Delft for Amsterdam in 1660 or 1661, De Hooch also became interested in the representation of light filtering through window panes, bathing the interiors with a light which is interrupted by the presence of the figures and objects. ![]() 4), most of whose interiors use this device which undoubtedly influenced Vermeer. The idea of locating the figures in a corner of a room recalls De Hooch (fig. In this painting, as in others of the late 1650s, the form in which the painter defines the space has changed in respect to earlier works: rather than directing the viewers gaze towards the area in which the main figures are located through objects placed in the foreground (as in, for example, Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, the figures here occupy a more open and deeper space. The rarity of Vermeer's paintings and the homogeneity of his work allow us to follow the development of his painting and observe the small variations evident in his pictorial and compositional techniques and his changing thematic interests over the years. In the mid-seventeenth century artists such as Ter Borch and De Hooch created works with such content which undoubtedly influenced Vermeer.` Many such paintings refer to the difficulty of resisting the temptations of the flesh and the dangers of giving into passion, particularly under the influence of wine and tobacco. The use of paintings to comment on courtship and amorous relations is common in the Netherlands in the seventeenth century. Gabriel Rollenhagen, Crispijn van de Passe (emblem illustrating Temperance, page 35) 3 Gabrielis Rollenhagii Selectorum emblematum centuria secunda He had an exceptional ability to blend oil and water when combining sources, but here the mixture remains incomplete.įig. As a result, the Young Woman with a Wine Glass has a composite quality that is not sensed in Vermeer's most similar works. Of course, the setting as a whole and to some extent the arrangement of the figures was influenced by Pieter de Hooch. 2), of the early l650s, by Gerbrand van den Eeckhout. The third figure (or 'fifth wheel') in the Braunschweig canvas also recalls characters depicted by Van Mieris but more strongly resembles the idle dandy in A Musical Party (fig. We have moved from the world of Gerard ter Borch to that of Frans van Mieris, where lecherous smiles and embarrassed grins occur more frequently. The same might be said for the behaviour of the figures in the Braunschweig picture, when compared with the couples in the Berlin and Frick paintings. These would be harsh judgements if applied to another painter, but Vermeer shows greater refinement in earlier works. Later figures by the artist, although framed in a similar manner, appear unconstrained by comparison. The seated male figure serves as a cornerstone for the structure, holding together rectangular elements and leftover zones of space (which have little of the presence one admires in most works by Vermeer). Out of necessity, the open window helps to define the corner and connect the table and the chair behind it with the walls. ![]() The brisk recession of the floor, which was already risky in the Berlin composition, has now cost the walls their definition as planes and as the perpendicular limits of the room. ![]() The shape of the bowing gentleman is also awkward: the contours that in the Berlin and Frick pictures lead so effectively into or around the female figures here form a nearly symmetrical arch of folds, which fall where they are needed to fill ambiguous areas, and foil the thrust forward of the man's head and hand (an effect more expected of an artist like Samuel van Hoogstraten than of Vermeer). For example, the spatial relationship of the table to the figures in the foreground is unclear, and only slightly improved by the white cloth thrown into cover up the problem. 1 The Girl with a Wine Glass (detail)įor all these similarities, however, what is most remarkable about the Braunschweig picture is its somewhat incoherent composition, when judged by the exacting standards of the Berlin design. ![]()
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