The art of Johannes Vermeer
fascinates viewers as much today as it did in seventeenth-century
Delft. Through a mastery of composition and harmonious colors
Vermeer appears to capture the moments, or even the moments between
moments, of everyday life in the quiet corner of a Dutch home
in his native city of Delft. Whether pausing to allow scales
to balance or idly tuning a lute or pondering the measure of
a map, Vermeer's figures seem possessed of and lost in thoughts
far deeper and profound than their simple activities might otherwise
indicate. Indeed while viewing Vermeer's paintings one frequently
considers the most fundamental emotions and concerns
of human existence: the uncertain nature of love, the rich rewards
derived from acts of charity, the need for a well-balanced life,
and the excitement of intellectual inquiry. Vermeer's ability
to suggest these universal features of humanity in his serene
images of daily existence is one of the most fascinating aspects
of this artist and accounts for the endless appeal of his art.
Johannes Vermeer,'Girl with
a Pearl Earring',copyright.
Koninklijk Kabinet
van Schilderijen Mauritshuis inv. no. 670
This exhibition, part of the year-long festivities commemorating
the 400th anniversary of the arrival of the first Dutch ship
on the shores of Japan, celebrates Vermeer and his age by exploring
in his paintings and those of his greatest contemporaries the
public and private nature of Dutch society. Drawn from some of
the finest collections in Europe and the United States, the exhibition
features not only works by Vermeer but those of Gerard Terborch,
Pieter de Hooch, Gabriel Metsu, Emanuel de Witte, Hendrick van
Vliet, and Willem van Aelst.
Artists such as Gerard Terborch and Jacob Ochtervelt evoke in
their paintings the tension inherent between public morality
and private life. In the beautiful and luminous Street Musicians
at a Door, Ochtervelt portrays the intersection of the outside
world with that of the home, as musicians delight a child with
their merry tunes while the mother calmly looks on. The soldier
in Terborch's psychologically penetrating Unwelcome Call
reluctantly accepts the messenger's summons to duty while his
companion already appears resigned to the reality of the situation.
Other artists, such as Hendrick van Vliet and
Emanuel de
Witte, celebrated the public life of the nation in paintings
of stark, whitewashed church interiors in Delft and Amsterdam.
In these settings the artists focused on the communal and public
nature of worship, as in De Witte's Interior of the Oude Kerk,
Amsterdam, or on the patriotic sacrifice of military heroes
such as Admiral Maerten Tromp, whose tomb in Van Vliet's painting
is the focus of visitors to the Oude Kerk in Delft.
Gerard ter borch,'Unwelcome
news',Koninklijk Kabinet van Schilderijen
Mauritshuis inv. no. 176
Still other artists, above all the still-life artist Willem van
Aelst, captured the splendor and beauty enjoyed by the wealthy
Dutch. However, as the intricate watch in his painting indicates,
this beauty, by its very nature, often fades all too quickly.
Like his colleagues, Vermeer exhibits in his paintings an interest
in the proper conduct of life, of harmonious relationships with
God and with others. However, it is a tribute to Vermeer's singular
genius that the beautiful, serene poetry of his artistic vision,
whether it be of a woman testing her balance or of a young maiden
turning to meet our gaze, speaks to us as forcefully today as
it did in his lifetime.