Afterthoughts On Visual Pleasure And Narrative Cinema Pdf

The Essential Vermeer Glossary of Art-Related Terms: D - I This glossary contains a number of recurrent terms found on the present site which may not be clear to all readers, especially when employed within the context of an art discussion. Some of these terms, signaled by an icon of the Vermeer's monogram and signature, are also discussed as they relate to specifically Vermeer's art. Each of the four sections of the glossary can be accessed from the menu top of each page of the glossary entries. The terms in this glossary are cross-linked or externally linked only the first time they appear in each individual entry. Dammar Varnish Dammar is a type of tree sap from Malaysia, Borneo, Java and Sumatra. The retains its colorless appearance longer than any other common varnish. It is generally composed of a single, such as Dammar or a synthetic type.

Dammar contains a high percentage of, or mineral spirits. This means that it does not form a thick layer like normal varnishes, and is therefore used for bringing out the full wet appearance of the on a dry before resuming painting. Dammar varnish does yellow and, as all varnishes do, but less so than others. The addition of Dammar in a paint adds brilliance and luminosity to. Dead-color (Dutch: dood-verf) Dead-color (in Dutch, dood-verf), which is the equivalent of today's term ',' is a more or less version of the final painting which gives, suggests substance, substantiates the principal and distributes with a fair degree of accuracy.

Laura Mulvey, “Afterthoughts on Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema”. Main Argument and Thesis. Mulvey uses Freud's theory of femininity to explain how both women and men emerge out of a phallic masculine stage, but that women cannot always act with femininity, but return here when they take an active rather than.

The lack of used in the term probably explains the word 'dead.' In the seventeenth century, dead-coloring appears in various forms. Dead-coloring was once so important in the painting process that it was mandatory in early days of Flemish painting. In 1546, one of the 's Hertogenbosch guild rules states, '7. All painters will be bound to work with good paints, and they will not make any paintings than on good dry oak planks or wainscot, being each color first dead-colored and this on a double ' It was not uncommon in the busier seventeenth-century that worked up numbers of paintings to the dead-coloring stage that only needed to be finished by the master.

Maintaining an abundant stock of images on spec may have been a expedient to entice prospective buyers. For more information on dead-color. As far as it is possible to understand, Vermeer used the dead-coloring methods common among Northern painters. In the, the brown ( and/or black) dead-color filled two functions: the broader areas of dark brown paint represented the masses of shadows with the light buff color of the ground serving as the lights.

In the early, a carefully brushed was followed by a monochrome dead-coloring in order to determine the essential forms of the composition. Some of the dead-coloring can be made out here and there through abraded. It has been remarked that more than one passage in appears unfinished and that this allows us to have a glimpse at Vermeer's underpainting although it is not out of the question that early restoration may be partially responsible for the loss of the uppermost paint layers. The massive wooden window frame and the deep shadowed area of the correspond rather closely to our idea of Vermeer's underpainting method. Neither of these two areas is defined according to the artist's habitual standard of finish. The darkest parts are all painted with the same dark gray pigment, most likely a mixture of and.

Here and there on the carpet's fore side we may observe the initial accents of. Some of the decorative features have been painted with medium blue paint over the monochrome ground, most likely a mixture of natural and a touch of. It is probable that the blue areas would have been subsequently with the same ultramarine, this time in a dense, transparent in order to deepen and enrich their color. Other parts of the decorative have been brought up with a medium-toned, which compared to the darkest underpaint seems to be a medium-dark. The upper folds of the which catch the incoming light have been depicted with light-toned paint, here with the addition of ochre and there with ultramarine. Decorative Arts The decorative arts are arts or crafts concerned with the design and manufacture of beautiful objects that are also functional. It includes interior design, but not usually architecture.

The decorative arts are often categorized in opposition to the ', namely,,, photography and sculpture, which generally are thought to have no function other than to be seen. The distinction between the decorative and the fine arts arose from the post-Renaissance art of the West, but is much less meaningful when considering the art of other cultures and periods, where the most highly regarded works—or even all works—include those in decorative media. The promotion of the fine arts over the decorative in European thought can largely be traced to the, when Italian theorists such as (1511–1574) promoted artistic values, exemplified by the artists of the High Renaissance, that placed little value on the cost of materials or the amount of skilled work required to produce a work, but instead valued artistic imagination and the individual touch of the hand of a supremely gifted master such as (1475–1564), (1483–1520) or (1452–1519), reviving to some extent the approach of antiquity. Most European art during prior to this period had been produced under a very different set of values, where both expensive materials and displays in difficult techniques were highly valued. Decorum Decorum (from the Latin: 'right, proper') was a principle of classical rhetoric, poetry and theatrical theory that was about the fitness or otherwise of a style to a theatrical subject. The concept of decorum is also applied to prescribed limits of appropriate social behavior within set situations and suitability of and style in painting. Decorum also determined that a pictorial or sculptural subject was suitable for an architectural setting, such as Vulcan's forge over a fireplace, or that kinds of buildings are fitting in urban or rural contexts or appropriate for persons of certain status.

Liturgical functions influenced by decorum dictate the placement of paintings, mosaics and sculpture in religious buildings. Originally a literary term, it was first used in relation to the visual arts in the in the writings of (1452–1519). According to da Vinci's theory of Decorum, the which a figure makes must not only demonstrate feelings, but must be appropriate to age, rank, and position. So must also be, the setting in which the subject moves, and all the other details of the. Such thinking greatly influenced academic art, in particular history painting, from the Renaissance through to the nineteenth century. According to his detractors, the cardinal sin of (1571–1610), who refused to study either ancient sculpture or 's (1483–1520) paintings, was the lack of decorum in subject matter and his supposed unfiltered imitation of nature.

Such an unselective imitation became a leitmotif of seventeenth-century art criticism, and (1613–1696) was its most vocal exponent. In his influential essay 'L'ldea' (1664), published as the preface to his Lives of Modern Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, Caravaggio was compared to Demetrius for being 'too natural,' painting men as they appear, with all their defects and individual peculiarities. In his influential Het Groot Schilderboek (The Great Book of Painting) the Dutch painter and art theoretician (1641–1711) faulted the art of his fellowmen for its too often vulgar subject matter, its lack of decorum in dressing classical figures in contemporary clothes, its lack of composition and sober painting handling, believing that only correct theory could produce good art. Dendrochronology Dendrochronology (or tree-ring dating) is the scientific method of dating tree rings (also called growth rings) to the exact year they were formed in order to analyze atmospheric conditions during different periods in history. Dendrochronology is useful for determining the timing of events and rates of change in the environment (most prominently climate) and also in works of art and architecture, such as old panel paintings on wood, buildings, etc.

It is also used in radiocarbon dating to calibrate radiocarbon ages. Dendrochronology has become an important tool for dating. However, unlike analysis of samples from buildings, which are typically sent to a laboratory, wooden supports for paintings usually have to be measured in a museum conservation department, which places limitations on the techniques that can be used.

In addition to dating, dendrochronology can also provide information as to the source of the panel. Many Early Netherlandish paintings have turned out to be painted on panels of 'Baltic oak' shipped from the Vistula region via ports of the Hanseatic League. Oak panels were used in a number of northern countries such as England, France and Germany. Wooden supports other than oak were rarely used by Netherlandish painters. Depth of Field In photography, the distance between the nearest point and the farthest point in the subject which is perceived as acceptably sharp along a common image plane. For most subjects it extends one third of the distance in front of and two thirds of the distance behind the point focused on. Although the human eye makes use of a convex lens there is no perception of depth of field because the lens continually changes its shape in order to bring whatever it is looking at into perfect focus.

In traditional forms of visual representation, even those which encompass expansive landscapes where depth of field is very noticeable with a modern camera, there is no true depth of field. However, by the, painters began to systematically soften the and modeling of objects seen at great distances as a means of enhancing the illusion of depth. Design The words ' and 'design' when applied to the visual arts are often used as if they were interchangeable, but each connotes something rather different. Composition is an arranging or pushing-about of the various parts of a picture—of the items, whether they be figures, architectural features or man-made props, of main interest and of secondary and tertiary interest—in such manner that the picture explains itself and tells a given story. Design, instead is the arranging of an agreeable or significant, a formal framework that compliments the composition and its story. Among many other elements of design the disposing of the dark masses so that they will balance agreeably with the light masses.

In modern commercial art, as is well known, the designer makes great case of having the dark masses of his poster or advertising placard properly related to the light masses. Strictly speaking, while the function of composition is narrative, that of design is. From Philips Hale, Vermeer, Boston: Small, Maynard, 1937, p.

The design—the, so to say—of certain of Vermeer's works is superlatively beautiful. Such excellence of is the more remarkable as it is a quality which does not appear in the work of most of the other Dutch painters. Their pictures are often admirably composed; they convey their motive and their story. They are sometimes composed subtly and elusively. Yet the ablest of these painters were uninterested, as a rule, in the underlying pattern of their compositions. An exception among them, in this regard, was (1622–1654), Vermeer's fellow townsman; and this circumstance gives one reason for supposing that Fabritius may have been intimate with Vermeer. The methods of the two men as designers, however, were not closely alike, and Vermeer excelled in both composition and design.

As his subjects were usually of the simplest nature, his compositional problems were not particularly intricate. Whatever story there was to tell, this was of the shortest and simplest; the intrigue required no elaborate working out. The design, on the other hand, of a Vermeer, is often subtle, highly original, and, in his best works, very beautiful. For their qualities of design one thinks especially of, formerly in Windsor Castle, the National Gallery, the, Berlin Gallery, the, Metropolitan Museum, the, Amsterdam Gallery, and the, Dresden Gallery. Some of Vermeer's works, withal, which contain his best painting, are not remarkable in design.

Thus, the weakly patterned of the Czernin Collection seems to have been painted for the sheer pleasure of the painting. As Vermeer's design and composition are so original and personal, it is strange that his work was ever mistaken for that of other me—'s (1617–1681), (1629–1684), and (1629–1667), for instance, each of whom had his own mode of composition. Ter Borch, as a rule, employed his background merely as a foil for the human figure. He made wonderful little which are the whole thing in his pictures; to them the background is entirely subsidiary, delightful as it may be in its manner of staying back. In planning a composition, Ter Borch apparently at first arranged his agreeably and then bethought himself of a fitting background. De Hooch's plan of composing was quite different from Ter Borch's.

A picture presented itself to his mind as an interior composed of beautiful lines and. His figures look like afterthoughts, as in the one— —at the National Gallery, London, in which lines of the back ground can be seen showing through one of the principal figures. De Hooch, in point of fact, did not do the figure at all well. He is a painter of interiors, par excellence. Detail A detail is an individual or minute part of an item or particular. The etymology of the word involves cutting, as in nouns like 'tailor' and 'retail.'

In modern art history, the study of detail is not just a specialty investigative tool, but a fundamental part of the discipline. 'Just as a mycologist looks at spores, or an ornithologist at the markings on birds' breasts, or a dermatologist at tiny suspicious spots, so an art historian looks at details.' 1 Accordingly, who concentrate on detail 'are only doing what scientists aredoing: they are systematically dissecting or disassembling their objects into component parts.'

In order to more fully understand their innermost workings. In the opinion of the art historian, this model may also betray art history's desire to 'become scientific, a desire that has long infected the humanities.' (detail) Johannes Vermeer c. 1657–1661 Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 41 cm., Amsterdam generally work with two types of details. The fist regards the details of a painting's, that is, of specific illusory objects or parts of objects which are represented in the pictured scene. Often, such details occupy only a minimum area of the painting's surface but for the inquiring art historian they have great consequence on the final reading of the work as a whole.

For example, a tiny, barely noticeable floor tile with a scribbled upon it in Vermeer's (see image left), a picture which has been traditionally interpreted as a hymn to domestic virtue, may, according to one analysis, suggest covert amorous undertones. In this case, the amorous reading would be presumably strengthened by the nearby which, according to one art historian, was at times associated with a lover's desire for constancy and caring but may likewise have carried sexual implication since most Dutchman would have known that the warmth of the coals moved under the skirt upwards towards the lady's private parts.

The second kind of detail regards an isolated area of the painting where the object of attention is not so much an illusory object, but the manner or means by which it is depicted. The most frequently analyzed details of this kind are, peculiar paint or surface qualities and stylistic components which might distinguish the technique of one painter from that of another. Various have argued that 'the fragment played a central role in Romantic; it was taken to possess a greater immediacy than the whole, as well as a privileged relation to truth. Artworks were understood to have been muted by systems of, and by concepts such as,,, and especially. Details were thought to be outside such systems' 2 and thus capable of revealing the artist's innermost nature. Portrait of Giovanni Morell Franz von Lenbach 1886 Oil on canvas, 125.5 x 90.2 cm. Accademia Carrara (1816–1891) was an Italian art critic and political figure who developed technique of scholarship, identifying through minor details that, revealed artists' scarcely conscious shorthand and conventions for portraying.

The Morellian method is based on clues offered by negligible details rather than identities of composition and subject matter or other broad treatments that are more likely to be seized upon by students, copyists and imitators. Morellian method has its nearest roots in Morelli's own discipline of medicine, with its identification of disease through numerous symptoms, each of which may be apparently trivial in itself. Adopting Morelli's approach, one scholar has recently argued that the authorship or Vermeer's early and is strengthened by the fact that the toes of two females figures are painted in a similar manner. The Morellian method of finding essence and hidden meaning in details not only influenced the course of art history but it had also a much wider cultural influence. There are references to his work in the Sherlock Holmes novels by Arthur Conan Doyle and in the works of Sigmund Freud. Some object to dangers of considering detail as the key, or 'the last word' 'that is capable of unlocking and exhausting all the of all that is painted around it.' Diagonal Line See also,., along with color, are considered the most basic elements of drawing.

Different lines have different psychological impacts depending on variations in their length, direction and weight. Diagonal lines suggest a feeling of movement or direction. Diagonal lines create a sensation of instability in relation to gravity, being neither vertical nor horizontal, but also because they are not related in a static way to the of the artist's paper. They seem to tip in space.

Since the periphery of the eye is sensitive to movement or to any diagonal, its calls for complete attention from the viewer which is why traffic signs designed to warn of hazards are diamond shaped use diagonals. In a two dimensional composition, diagonal lines are also used to indicate depth, an illusion of perspective that pulls the viewer into the picture, creating an illusion of a space that one could move about within. Thus, if a feeling of movement or speed is desired, or a feeling of activity, diagonal lines can be used. Baroque artists in particular made use of the diagonal line to introduce energy and movement in their works. Although Vermeer's designs are generally thought of as predominantly rectilinear, the artist made continual use of strong, clear diagonals in order to introduce a visual dynamism and confer the sensation of ongoing narrative development. One of the most effective use of diagonal lines can be found in the. In this picture, a series of three implied diagonal lines superimpose themselves over the rectilinear compositional structure invigorating the narrative tension, wherein the mistress has cast aside a letter she has just received (see the letter and red wax seal on the floor in front of the table) and hastily writes as her maid patiently waits to deliver the letter as soon as it is finished.

Dilettante Originally, an admirer or lover of the arts, a. Or, a dabbler in an art or a field of knowledge; an amateur.

Today, 'dilettante' is more likely to be used in the latter sense, and taken by many—by the listener, even if not by the speaker—as an insult. It was more innocent in its original uses, as derived from the Italian word 'dilettare,' meaning 'to delight.' In the 18th century, a dilettante was simply a person who delighted in the arts. Later, the term came to refer to an amateur — someone who cultivates an art as a pastime without pursuing it professionally. From this meaning developed the pejorative meaning the word carries now: a person who dabbles in an art, but is not truly devoted to it.

Colorito ('drawing vs. Color' debate) In Florence, disegno ('drawing' or 'design') was viewed as the sine qua non of the artistic endeavor, the primary means for making painting approximate nature.

Disegno was fundamental for all areas of art in the Renaissance: painting, sculpture, and architecture. Although it is believed that the notion of drawing as the foundation for the art of painting and sculpture had been expressed at least as early as Petrarch, 5 the art historical concept of disegno 'originated partly in the workshop of sculptors and had direct reference to the plastic quality of a work. (1511–1574), the foremost art critic of the Renaissance, gave the concept its universal form by lumping together all the visual arts as arti del disegno and by initiating the foundation of the Academy of Design (Accademia del Disegno) in Florence in 1562. In Vasari's usage disegno points to the regular form or idea of things in artist's mind, that is, disegno is understood primarily as the right proportion of the whole to its parts and of the parts to one another.' 6 Thus, disegno was considered the key to the entire imaginative process, the medium of the painter's thought and its concrete expression. On the other hand, in Venice, colorito, 'coloring' was not only color but the fundamental means by which painted images could be charged with the look of life.

Florentine color was frequently more vivid than the palette used in Venetian paintings; typically Venetian, however, was the process of layering and blending colors to achieve a glowing, natural richness. Rather than beginning with careful drawings where contours are fixed with meticulous certainty, Venetian painters often worked out compositions directly on the canvas, using layered patches of colors and, rather than line, to evoke the sense of space and.

Venetian painters paid much closer attention to the effects of light than the Florentines and used this knowledge to create both movement and volume in. This debate, which raged throughout the Early (c.1400–1490) and the (c.1490–1530) was argued over by many of the leading exponents of, up until the nineteenth century. The debate between the two positions involved theorists as well as artists and regional rivalries as well as concerns. (1635–1709), a French art who gave important contribution to aesthetics in his Dialogue sur le coloris ('Dialogue on colours'), broke with tradition and argued strenuously that color was not simply accidental ornamentation, but the main condition of an object's visibility. Thus color, to de Piles, was part of the natural order of.

It is an attempt to assess the achievement of the major artists since (1483–1520), De Piles awarded marks out of twenty for each composition, design or drawing, color, and expression, De Piles' evaluations have been denigrated after the decline of Classicism, and his ranking is now considered his 'most notorious contribution to criticism' even though his 'decomposition of the overall quality of the work into four properties was revolutionary and ambitious at the time.' After an examination of the historical correlation (1736–1960) between prices achieved by their works at auction and the De Pile's evaluation of a list of fifty-six major painters in his own time (with whose work he had acquainted himself as a during his travels) the professor of economics Kathryn Graddy concluded that the critic's 'ratings have held up very well,' better than those of other critics or 'random judgments.' In sum, 'His [De Piles'] higher-rated artists achieved a greater return than his lower rated artists.' 7 De Piles' table of artists is reported below.

Each painter was given marks from '0' to '18' in composition, drawing, color and expression which was intended to provide an overview of aesthetic appreciation that hinges upon the balance between color and design. The highest marks went to Raphael, with a slight bias on color for Rubens, a slight bias on drawing for Raphael. Painters who scored very badly in anything but color were Giovanni Bellini, (c. 1477/8–1510 and remarkably Caravaggio with '16' on color and '0' (zero) on expression. Painters who fell far behind Rubens and Raphael but whose balance between color and design was perfect were (1494–1533), (1616–1671), (1471–1528). (1606 –1669), who is today considered one of the world's greatest draughtsmen, was given a desultory '6.'

Disks of Confusion/Halations See also, and. In optics, a disk of confusion (also referred to as halation, blur circle, circle of confusion and circle of indistinctness) refers to the effect of non-converging, unfocused light rays that have entered a lens.

When light waves don't converge after passing through a lens, they produce a larger optical spot, instead of coming together at a single point, as in the case of a. Under normal conditions disks of confusion are not seen with the human eye because 'it quickly shifts focus to the object being momentarily considered, so that most persons are unaware that the.eye is focused on a single plane at any given instant. If the eye did not shift focus as quickly as it does one might be able to notice circles of confusion forming on the retina, but experimentation shows that the out-of-focus image formed on the retina is useless for picture-making purposes even if one is aware of its existence.' 'Dissolute' Self Portraits by Dutch and Flemish Artists drawn from the abstract of: Ingred Cartwright, 'Hoe schilder hoe wilder: Dissolute self-portraits in seventeenth-century Dutch and Flemish Art', dissertation, University of Maryland, 2007.

In the seventeenth century, Dutch and Flemish artists presented a strange new face to the public in their self portraits. Rather than assuming the traditional guise of the learned gentleman artist that was fostered by topoi, many painters presented themselves in a more unseemly light. Dropping the noble robes of the pictor doctus, they smoked, drank, and chased women. Dutch and Flemish artists explored a new mode of self-expression in dissolute self-portraits, embracing the many behaviors that art theorists and the culture at large disparaged. Dissolute self portraits stand apart from what was expected of a, yet they were nonetheless appreciated and valued in Dutch culture and in the art market. Dissolute self portraits also reflect and respond to a larger trend regarding artistic identity in the seventeenth century, notably, the stereotype 'hoe schilder hoe wilder'['the more of a painter, the wilder he is,' a reference that reappears throughout the century, both in print and in paint] that posited Dutch and Flemish artists as intrinsically unruly characters prone to prodigality and dissolution. Artists embraced this special identity, which in turn granted them certain freedoms from and a license to misbehave.

In self portraits, artists emphasized their dissolute nature by associating themselves with themes like the Five Senses and the Prodigal Son in the tavern. View of an Interior, or The Slippers (traditional title, given in the 19th century) Samuel van Hoogstraten Between 1654 and 1662 Oil on canvas, 103 x 70 cm. Louvre, Paris One of the most effective manners for seventeenth-century Dutch painters for achieving pictorial depth within domestic settings was the so-called doorkijkje, or 'see-through' doorway which permits the spectator to view something outside the pictured room, whether it be another room, a series of rooms, a hallway, a street, a canal, a courtyard or a garden. The doorkijkje offers the painter an opportunity to create a more complicated architectural space and contemporarily expand.

(1634–1693) painted six versions of an idle servant eavesdropping or an encounter between a man and a maidservant glimpsed through an open door. Other examples of the doorkijkje device can be found in Emmanuel De Witte's (c.

1660) and 's (1627–1678) (1662) and by the same (see image left). However, no Dutch artist made use of this device more than (1629–1684) in both interior and exterior scenes. In the Courtyard of a House in Delft, we see it in the sequence of full light on the foreground bricks, contrasting the quieter shade of the covered tiled passageway, and the open door to the sunlit street beyond. The art historian Martha Hollander found that among more than 160 paintings attributed to De Hooch, only twelve do not exhibit this technique of a doorkijkje revealing secondary and tertiary views to other rooms, courtyards or the street beyond. 9 It has been pointed out that in the twentieth century, the Italian film director Luchino Visconti, somewhat as seventeenth-century Dutch painters were centuries before, was particularly fond of his actors through doorways doors in art and film or, on the contrary, by blocking our view onto another character we would like to see; so deliberately withholding information. In all, Vermeer painted three doorkijkje motifs: the early, and lost work described in a as ' The picture fetched 95 guilders, making it one of the highest priced works of the auction.

It is generally believed that Vermeer drew directly from doorkijkje paintings of Nicolaes Maes for his A Maid Asleep while the complicated compositional structure of his late Love Letter can be traced to Van Hoogstraten's The Slippers (see image above) or Pieter de Hooch's. Although there is obviously no way to envision the lost doorkijkje, after A Maid Asleep Vermeer never again opened a view on another room beyond that in which the scene is set. Doorsien Doorsien is a Dutch word that literally means 'plunge through.' Dutch painters were particularly interested in views into the distance, which they called doorsien. Doorsiens not only enhance the sense of depth in a picture but also helped the artist structure complex scenes with large numbers of figures, convincingly situating them on different planes. The Dutch painter and art theorist (1548–1606) even criticized Michelangelo's Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel because it was lacking in sufficient depth. In his influential Schilder-boeck (Painter book) of 1604, Van Mander wrote: Our composition should enjoy a fine quality, for the delight of our sense, if we there allow a view [ insien] or vista [ doorsien] with small background figures and a distant landscape, into which the eyes can plunge.

We should take care sometimes to place our figures in the middle of the foreground, and let one see over them for many miles. 'Although Van Mander used the term doorsien to refer to vistas or views in general, he uses perspect to indicate the more specific context of an architectural setting in which, for example, a receding passageway or colonnade is viewed through an archway. He distinguishes perspecten from the natural opening provided by rocks and trees in landscapes but notes that they have the same effect.' In various interiors by Vermeer there is evidence of another optical phenomenon which reveals the artist’s keen interest in capturing the activity of light: the so-called double shadow.

These complex shadows are cast on back wall by objects close to it and caused by the light which enters simultaneously from two windows. For example, in the wider shadow to the right of the black-framed mirror is caused by the near raking light entering from the window closest the background wall.

But it is partially weakened—and here the double shadow appears—because light from the second window closer to the spectator enters the room at a less oblique angle and invades the most external part of the wider shadow. In the same picture the lid of the opened virginal also creates a double shadow. Double shadows are also present in and, and, although more tentatively defined, in some of the artist’s earlier interiors. By obscuring one of the two windows all double shadows are avoided.

Curiously, the London architect and Vermeer/camera obscura expert Philip Steadman noted that the widths and angles of the double shadow of the mirror in The Music Lesson are not coherent with the angle of the mirror as it appears in the painting. Since the top of the mirror leans a considerable distance out from the wall, the shadows would have been much wider and more angled and would have appeared as they now do only if the mirror had laid flat against the wall. According to Steadman, the artist evidently wanted to show both the reflection of his own vantage point in the mirror (the painter’s easel and canvas can be seen in the reflection) and have the mirror appear to hang in a more normal, near-vertical position, requirements that are obviously incompatible in reality (although they are made to look compatible in the painting).

The double shadow which descends downward from the window sill in A Lady Standing at a Virginal, however, is not caused by the light of two different windows. Although difficult to understand, the profile of the outermost shadow may have been caused by a building outside Vermeer's studio which blocked some of the light entering the studio.

The inner most profile is caused by the light of the sky which descends from a higher angle, blocked by the thickness of the wall above the window frame. In Dutch painting double shadows were avoided as much as possible because they tend to create compositions that seem restless and confused. 'It is an evil against which the art experts of Vermeer’s time and later were always warning artists. (1627–1678) writes about this in his Inleyding tot de hooge Schoole der Schilderkonst and (1641–1711) devotes a whole chapter to: ‘Van de lichten binnenskamers’ (Of Indoor Lighting), which he illustrates with a few examples.'

Other than those of Vermeer, one of the very few careful portrayals of double shadows in Dutch interior painting can be found in Gabriel Metsu’s (c. 1665), which, however, is a composite of certain aspects of Vermeer’s The Music Lesson and The Concert. The Miraculous Draught of Fishes Jacopo Bassano 1545 Oil on canvas, 143.5 x 243.7 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington D. For the painter, the movements of drapery are nearly inexhaustible in their variety and capacity to suggest things other than itself.

Drapery can be stretched softly to suggest peace, relaxation or the flow of nature, or taut, to suggest tension or alarm. Folded upon itself, drapery may convey shades of passion, confusion, wealth or sensuality. Vertical folds may convey strength while horizontal may convey repose and diagonal folds, movement. Sometimes, drapery seems able to move by its own will. The high number of and Baroque figure drawings that show the lavish attention bestowed to the actions of drapery but only a scarce few lines to define the anatomical features which emerge from them, attest to the wealth of aesthetic solutions which helped the painter develop narrative and mood. It is impossible to imagine the splendor of color in European easel painting without drapery.

The character of painted drapery is strongly linked to both the age in which it is painted and the individual artist who treats it. But one of the main attractions of drapery for the painter was technical. In all but the most meticulous forms or realism, the representation of drapery allows a freedom in paint handling that other motifs do not, and after the drapery is often painted in a looser stylistic register than that of the figure to which it belongs, without, however, disrupting illusionist verisimilitude.

Drapery is, perhaps, more easily imitated with the brush and paint than any other motif. In collaboration with the shape of the brush and the natural flow of, the anatomical articulations of the body favor easy, rhythmic back-and-forth movements of the arms and wrist that are particularly adapted for describing the sweeping curves and angular character of drapery's folds and flat planes. For artists who followed ( c. 1488/1490–1576) revolutionary, drapery provided an opportunity to explore the one-to-one relationship between brush strokes and the thing represented, but it likewise exposed them to the dangers of empty virtuosismo. Members of the French Academy believed that the depictions of different kind of fabrics could potentially distract from the essence of painting, some praising the sober manner in which (1594–1665) and (1619–1690) had depicted drapery. Velvet, satin or taffeta should be avoided in favor of more generic, non reflective fabrics.

(1723–1792), who continued to defend the 'grand style' of history painting well into the eighteenth century, wrote, 'as the historical painter never enters into the details of colors, so neither does he debase his conceptions with minute attention to the discriminations of drapery. It is the inferior style that marks the variety of stuffs. With him the clothing is neither woolen nor linen, nor silk, satin, nor velvet—it is drapery; it is nothing more.'

Drapery was a fundamental part of Vermeer's art. He employed colorful costumes to create mood and define the social standing of his sitters. He hung tapestries in the foreground to force spatial depth and energize his compositions. Anonymous tablecloths bridge differently shaped objects and conceal compositional distractions. Richly patterned imported carpets were thrown over tables to create compositional structures, sometimes geometrically shaped, but more frequently sculpted by deep valleys and tortuous folds to evoke the psychological states of his sitters.

Their rich reds vibrate against the cool grays and pure blues which dominate the artist's. Marieke de Winkel, an expert in seventeenth-century Dutch fashion, published an interesting study regarding the identity and function of the costumes portrayed in Vermeer's scenes. It has been long debated if the outward flare of the that appear various times in the interiors of Vermeer is the result of pregnancy or fashion because this would have pivotal importance in assigning meaning to the pictures in which they occur. Some critics have described the colors of Vermeer's costumes, especially those painted with natural ultramarine, and a few have noted how the realistic folds of the works of the 1660s gradually succumb to the heavily stylization of the late works.

It seems somewhat surprising that not even a single preparatory or finished drawing by Vermeer has survived. One would expect that such meticulously balanced compositions and problematic could be most efficiently resolved through preparatory drawings which would allow the artist to easily correct any errors. There were many ways to transfer drawings efficiently and accurately to canvas.

Only scant traces have remained of the initial drawing methods on Vermeer's canvases although evidence seems to suggest that it was deliberate and controlled. It was once thought that Vermeer revealed some of his own working procedures, including his drawing methods, in. On a toned canvas the artist represented in Vermeer's picture has laid in the contours of the model in white paint or chalk and has begun to paint in various shades of blue the laurel leaves. However, there exist many discrepancies between real working habits seen in representations of painters' studios of seventeenth-century and those illustrated in The Art of Painting. While some of the indications given by The Art of Painting of the painter's technique may be factual, others may have a more symbolic function and in any case they do not seem to correspond closely to what were most likely Vermeer's own methods. Drying Oil A drying oil is an oil that hardens to a tough, solid film after a period of exposure to air.

The oil hardens through a chemical reaction in which the components crosslink (and hence, polymerize) by the action of oxygen (not through the evaporation of water, or other solvents). Drying oils are a key component of oil paint and some varnishes. The more drying oil is introduced into, the more the paint becomes transparent and glossy.

Some commonly used drying oils include linseed oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, poppy seed oil and walnut oil. Each oil has distinct mixing and drying properties and each creates a different type of film when it dries. The use of drying oils has somewhat declined over the past several decades, as they have been replaced by alkyd resins. Nondrying oils are mineral oils and vegetable oils, such as peanut oil and cottonseed oil, that resemble animal fats and, because they do not oxidize naturally and harden, are unsuitable as a binder for paint. Dummy Board See also.

Dummy boards (the actual term is a nineteenth-century invention) are life-size flat figures painted on wooden panels and shaped in outline to resemble figures of servants, soldiers, children, and animals. On the other side, dummy boards are fitted with a wooden support that allows them to stand upright in corners, doorways and on stairways to surprise visitors. The taste for illusionistic painted figures as a form of house decoration probably originated in the, or life-like interior scenes painted by Dutch artists in the early seventeenth century. Dummy boards continued to be produced well into the nineteenth century. Many later dummy boards were made by professional sign painters. Dummy boards belong to a wide range of trompe l'oeil devices that were immensely popular in the seventeenth-century Netherlands.

A number or artists tried their hands at these 'eye foolers' ( oogenbedriegers), and their works were also in great demand abroad. 1675), who would become one of the most innovative trompe-l'oeil painters in Europe moved to Stockholm in 1672, where he lived for a few years, and then went on to seek his fortune again in Germany. In 1675 he probably resided in Breslau (presently Wroclaw in Poland). The painter and art writer (1627–1678) is noted to have kept many such eye foolers strewn around his house. According to (1660–1719), another Dutch art writer, one could find them practically every where one looked: 12 Here an apple, pear or lemon in a dish rack, three a slipper in the corner of the room or under a chair.

There were also dried, salted fish on a nail behind the door, and these were so deceptively painted that one could easily mistake them for the actual dried plaice. Boy Sleeping in a High Chair Johannes Verspronck 1654 Oil on panel, 96 x 75.7 cm. Private collection Houbraken credited (1630–1674) with being 'the first, if not the best, to paint all manners of images on wood in life-like colors and then cut them out so that they would be placed in a corner or doorway. Houbraken though that Bisschop's were 'the most natural and witty and inventive examples' and he claims to have 'seen some that, when in position, deceive the eye and cause people to greet them as though they were real.' The esteemed portrait painter ( (between 1600 and 1603–1662 (buried) also painted one of the first dummy boards, Boy in his Highchair (see image left) which is both signed and dated (1654). Dummy boards are a good resource for understanding costume. Dynamic Range Dynamic range describes the ratio between the maximum and minimum measurable light intensities (white and black, respectively).

In the real world, one never encounters true white or black — only varying degrees of light source intensity and subject reflectivity. But we can interpret dynamic range as the measurement between the whitest whites and the blackest blacks of an image as captured by a camera, a scanner, a print, a computer display, a painting or the subject itself. Any image created by a device can only record so much detail between the darkest shadows of a scene and the brightest highlights, and eventually will render tones at the end of this scale as an effective black or white simply because there is not enough detail available. Each medium has its own dynamic range, and often the goal is to extend the range of tones in between the maximum and minimum values to create a more full-feeling image, similar to the gradient that runs from pure black to pure white. Although brightness is typically measured in units called candelas per square meter (cd/m2), one of the most functional units is the so-called f-stop, a dimensionless number which refers to the ratio between the diameter of the aperture in the lens and the focal length of the lens.

What is important to know, however, is that with each added f-stop the amount of light which passes through the aperture into the camera is doubled, and with each subtracted f-stop, it is halved. The human sense of sight is incredibly sensitive to light. It can see objects in bright sunlight or in starlight, even though on a moonless night objects receive 1/1,000,000,000 of the illumination they would on a bright sunny day.

Some sources claim that the overall range of brightness that the human eye can see (static range) is equivalent to 20 f-stops while others 24 or even 30, the brightness ratio being roughly 1,000,000:1. In any case, the eyes cannot perform this feat of perception at both extremes of the scale at the same time. They must constantly adapt to higher and lower lighting conditions, altering their sensitivity in order to be responsive at different levels of illumination. The range of brightness that the eye can see in a given moment and circumstance is called the dynamic range because, unlike the static range, it is always changing. This adaptation, which is highly localized, is so efficient and so rapid that we are rarely aware of it. One of the most important factors in the process of adaption is the pupil, which regulates the amount of light that enters the eye by widening its diameter (to let more light in) or narrowing it (to protect the eye from too much light). For example, when one looks at a bright sky the pupil becomes very small but it instantaneously opens as we shift our gaze down to a group of shadowed trees below allowing us to make out details of contrast in both points of the view.

However, to adapt from complete darkness to the very strongest light it takes considerable time for the eyes to adjust, as we all know when we are suddenly woken up after a night's sleep to an open window on a sunny morning. Although the eye can accommodate about 24 f-stops of light over all, it can accommodate only a range of about 1,000:1 at any given moment (i.e., its dynamic range) usually given to be between 10 to 14 f-stops.

This range can be calculated when one looks at only one region within a field of view, letting the eyes adjust and not looking anywhere else so that the opening of the eye's pupil remains unchanged. A typical compact digital camera has a dynamic range of about 5 to 7 f-stops while a high-end DSLR camera (Nikon D800) has a dynamic range of about 14.4 f-stops.

Any amateur photographer who has looked at his vacation shots as photographs rather than souvenirs is very familiar with the issue of dynamic range. He finds that in most his snapshots taken in strong light either the shadowed areas are legible and the lights look washed out, or the contrary, the lights are properly detailed and the shadows are disappointing black splotches. It is usually only by chance the all the objects in his pictures are uniformly detailed in both the lights and shadows. This is not the amateur's fault, it's the camera's.

For while the eyes constantly adapt and so give the viewer the experience of being able to perceive a nature's full range of brightness, the camera can bracket only much smaller range of brightness at one maoment, that is, its dynamic range. To get a photograph to look approximately like the scene that the photographer actually perceived, he would either have to purchase a sturdy tripod and HDRI software, or become a very good painter. For example, the Italianate Landscape (1650-1683) by (1620–1683) exhibits tonal variety detail in both the lights and the shadows even though the outdoors scene must have had an enormous large range of brightness. Everything looks utterly natural, as if we were standing next to the painter immersed in the deep shade of the soaring hillside looking out towards the distant horizon and a wondrously luminous blue sky tainted only with a few fluffy clouds. To approximate the effect of Berchem's landscape in photography it would be necessary to make multiple photographs from Berchem's viewpoint with varying shutter speed/aperture combinations in order to produce a set of images with varying luminosity and depth of field--and then process them with HDRI software. In any case, one can easily intuit the difficulties faced by a painter who wishes to accommodate the range of natural luminosity in his painting when we think that the dynamic range of a room like that in Vermeer's may be approximately 12 f-stops while that of his paints are only about 5 f-stops. Notwithstanding the limits of their 'poor' paints, artists have been able to produce convincing illusions of almost any light found in nature, except for the sun.

Earth Colors Earth colors are pigments that are obtained by mining; usually metal oxides. Earth colors do not show up on the color wheel. Some earth colors can be created by mixing two complementary colors or combining a pure color with white, black, or gray. But natural occurring earth pigments produce paints that have specific, highly desirable handling and coloring characteristics that mixtures of bright colors do not.

Earth colors are also easy to come by, relatively easy to prepare and thus, inexpensive. Earth colors include yellow ochre, raw sienna, raw umber, green earth, Cassel earth, Van Dyck brown, various shades of black and and even blue ochre (Vivianite). When some earth colors are heated appropriately they produce different and highly useful and unmixable colors such as burnt, sienna, burnt umber and red ochre. While most earth colors can be produced synthetically, naturally occurring iron oxide pigments generally preferred by artists because they are inherently more translucent and offer some warm, rich qualities.

Because they are natural they are variable in composition and physical properties, which can result in significant color variances. While this natural modulation is of great allure to artists, natural variability can cause paint makers some concern. Easel & Easel Painting An easel is an upright frame for displaying or supporting a while the painter is at work. Easels are made of wood and have various designs. The most common in Vermeer's time was the tripod easel which had three legs.

Variations include crossbars to make the easel more stable. The height of the movable front cross bar could be adjusted by means of pegs inserted in regularly staggered hole along the two front legs. This feature allowed the painter to work comfortable with both small and large canvases while seated or standing. Most paintings which represent artists in their studios show them working while seated. In an early painting by (1606 –1669) of an artist at work, perhaps a self portrait, the lower, fixed support bar bears two indentations where the artist presumably rest his feet while working.

Typically, the tripod easel is fully adjustable to accommodate for different angles. Furthermore, when they are collapsed, this type of easel becomes very slim and can be fit in small spaces around the studio.

It is only around 1600 that the Dutch word ezel, meaning donkey, begins to appear in written sources used in the secondary sense of a stand for supporting paintings. By mid-century, English and German had adopted this use of the Dutch word as well, and the easel painting was well on its way to becoming the quintessential modern work of art. 13 An easel painting is a painting which is small enough to be comfortably executed on an easel. Easel painting became pre-eminent in the sixteenth century and has remained so. It is likely that easel paintings were known to the ancient Egyptians, and the first-century-AD Roman scholar Pliny the Elder refers to a large panel placed on an easel; it was not until the thirteenth century, however, that easel paintings became relatively common, finally superseding in popularity the mural, or wall painting. The term implies not only physical aspects but also inherent concepts that are very different from those associated with wall paintings or those intended for a fixed position or an architectural scheme.

Easel painting is therefore associated with the increased secular use of art from the sixteenth century and with the identification of paintings as objects of worth in their own right. The rise of easel painting involved a subtle assertion of the independence of the art of painting and the profession of painter. The status afforded to painting in the writings of, for example, (1452–1519)and (1511–1574) reflects these developments and anticipates the increased social and intellectual status of the individual artist. Being highly transportable, easel paintings were easy to buy and sell, easel painting facilitated the growth of the art market. 'Almost all our knowledge about the ownership of easel paintings in the seventeenth-century Netherlands comes from information gathered upon death or in anticipation of death in probate inventories. As far as those inventories are concerned, one painting is pretty much like the next and one painting's front is pretty much like its back.

That is to say, in the inventories of all but the wealthiest seventeenth-century Dutch collectors, paintings are usually listed without reference even to subject matter—simply as 'a panel', 'a painting', 'two paintings with ebony frames', as if the notary were looking at them from behind. Sometimes minimal indications of genre are given, such as 'a portrait', 'a landscape', or 'a pot of flowers', but attributions to specific artists are very rare.' Work by the dozen [ dosijn werk]' is the expression used to designate paintings of especially poor quality. And many of these inventoried paintings were indeed sold by the dozen, i.e., in lots on the auction block.' Ekphrasis 'One particular kind of visual description is also the oldest type of writing about art in the West.

Called ekphrasis, it was created by the Greeks. The goal of this literary form is to make the reader envision the thing described as if it were physically present. In many cases, however, the subject never actually existed, making the ekphrastic description a demonstration of both the creative imagination and the skill of the writer. For most readers of famous Greek and Latin texts, it did not matter whether the subject was actual or imagined. The texts were studied to form habits of thinking and writing, not as art historical evidence.

'In the second half of the eighteenth century, ekphrastic writing suddenly appeared in a new context. Travelers and would-be travelers provided a growing public eager for vivid descriptions of works of art. Without any way of publishing accurate reproductions, appearances had to be conveyed through words alone. William Hazlitt, John Ruskin, and Walter Pater, to name three great nineteenth-century writers in English, published grand set-pieces of ekphrasis about older as well as contemporary art. For them, the fact that the object existed mattered a great deal. The goal of these Victorian writers was to make the reader feel like a participant in the visual experience.

The more convincingly this was done, the more effective the writing was judged to be.' Ell The length represented by the Dutch ell was the distance of the inside of the arm (i.e. The distance from the armpit to the tip of the fingers), an easy way to measure length. The Dutch 'ell', which varied from town to town (55–75 cm), was somewhat shorter than the English ell (114.3 cm). A section of measurements is given below: one Hague ell or standard ell (Haagse of gewone el) = 69.425 cm. One Amsterdam ell (Amsterdamse el) = 68.78 cm. One Brabant ell (Brabantse el) = 69.2 cm or 16 tailles one Delft ell (Delfsche el) = 68.2 cm.

One Goes ell (Goesche el) = 69 cm. One Twente ell (Twentse el) = 58.7 cm.

In 1725 the Hague ell was fixed as the national standard for tax purposes and from 1816 to 1869, the word el was used in the Netherlands to refer to the metre. In 1869 the word meter was adopted and the el, disappeared, both as a word and as a unit of measurement. Emblem/Emblematic Literature A picture associated with a motto, usually moralizing in tone.

An example is a popular print showing King Midas, unable to eat because his touch turns everything to gold, accompanied by the words 'both rich and poor.' For the new subject matter of seventeenth-century realism—landscape, still life and genre—an established metaphorical tradition such as the Bible and classical literature used in history painting was lacking. 'To make up for it, artists started to make use of the popular emblematical literature.

The first emblems were published in Italy in the early sixteenth century. Their composition was a literary genre among humanists: by finding apt combinations of image and text they could show off their metaphorical inventiveness and wit. The genre spread quickly and became immensely popular.

In Holland it was soon employed by Calvinist moralists like Johan de Brune who realized the didactic value of a concrete image explained by concise text.' 16 The Dutch were exceptionally literate and religious and moral commitment were central to Dutch literature. It is said that the works of the didactic poet were in every Dutch home, alongside the Bible. Essentially, the aim of the emblem was to make morality more attractive.

Emblematic meanings as well as motifs derived from emblem books frequently appear in Dutch paintings. However, it must be remembered that even though connections between emblem books and painting are generally accepted, there exist no text of the period which specifically associates paintings with didactic intention. The website currently includes 27 Dutch love emblem books, religious as well as profane. Each book has a full transcriptions, page facsimiles and indexes, as well as extended search options. Links to sources and parallels, translations and annotation are being added.

Scholars have related various paintings of Vermeer to existing prints in contemporary emblem books which were accompanied by mottoes. While much knowledge has been gained by investigating these associations, important questions remain unanswered. One example of the difficulty in interpreting emblematic meaning may seen in the In 1967, Eddy de Jongh ('On Balance' in, 1998) proposed an interpretation of the picture in relation to one such emblem with the motto 'A lover ought to love only one' in emblem book of 1608,. In Vermeer's picture, a painting representing a holds aloft a card can be closely related to Van Veen's print.

However, in the Van Veen's print, the Cupid stands with one foot on another card with multiple numbers which is missing in Vermeer's representation. De Jongh wrote: 'Although the card of the painted amor is blank and the card with the other ciphers is missing is itself missing, there can be no doubt that Vermeer had been inspired by the very same notion when he painted the woman at the virginal.'

However, about 20 years later De Jongh readdressed the issue: 'I restate the hypothesis that Vermeer was thinking of Van Veen's meaning when he conceived his painting. This hypothesis, however, does not solve very much. For even if the emblematic meaning of any passage may be correctly identified, the crucial question is: how did the painter intend the inserted moral to function?'

Emphasis Emphasis is any forcefulness that gives importance or dominance (weight) to some feature or features of an artwork; something singled out, stressed, or drawn attention to by means of contrast, anomaly, or counterpoint for aesthetic impact. A way of combining elements to stress the differences between those elements and to create one or more centers of interest in a work.

Often, emphasized elements are used to direct and focus attention on the most important parts of a composition—its focal point. Emphasis is one of the principles of design. A design lacking emphasis may result in monotony. Emulation & Imitation 'The familiar premium that contemporary Western society places on artistic originality is actually a fairly recent phenomenon. Among the concepts artists most valued were imitation and emulation. Although Renaissance artists did develop unique, recognizable styles, convention, in terms of both subject matter and representational practices, predominated.'

18 Imitation and emulation, (Latin; imitatio and aemulatio) both abandoned in modern studio practices, were key concepts in artistic training. Only when the artist had learned to imitate, then emulate, could he finally invent. Until the mid eighteenth century, imitation was considered the first, and absolutely indispensable step to becoming a fully developed artist. Imitation was largely based on the concept of classical rhetoric. By imitating (copying) prints, drawings and paintings of the great Italian masters of the Cinquecento (exceedingly little painting had survived from the Greek and Roman times) fledging artists contemporarily stored up knowledge and trained the mind and hand. Emulation was also know to the ancients, Virgil had supposedly emulated Homer 'in the race of honour.'

Even the greatest artists copied and imitated the work of their colleagues. (1452–1519) filled his sketchbooks with of well-known sculptures and frescoes while Michelangelo spent days sketching artworks in churches around Florence and Rome.

Philip IV gave (1577–1640) extraordinary permission to make scale copies of ( c. 1488/1490–1576) paintings in the Royal collection that had to be taken off the walls and brought to a temporary studio set up for Rubens. The limits of imitation were often debated. The Dutch art theorist (1627–1678) raccounts that 'Rubens was once reproached for borrowing whole figures from the Italians to which he even sent draftsmen to Italy to bring back examples. Rubens supposedly responded top this criticism by saying, 'They are free to do the same, if they see any advantage in it', thereby suggesting that not everyone was capable of benefiting from imitation.' 19 The Dutch referred to imitation, both in the sense of stealing and benign borrowing with the same term,.

Good rapen consisted in borrowing from various sources—Seneca oft quoted phrase recommended artists to draw from numerous sources as bees take honey from a host of flowers—the fusing them together with one's own genius in a manner that none of the borrowings were evident. (1548–1606), playing upon the double meaning of the word rapen as both 'borrowing' and 'turnip,' wrote that 'what is stolen must be welded, molded in the mind as though it were stewed in a pot, and prepared and served with the sauce of ingenuity if it is to prove flavourful.'

20 Once the artist in training had acquired sufficient technical means through imitation, he could move on to emulation which was considered improving on the works of established and recognized masters. It was firmly believed that only by knowing the strengths of the previous masters could a painter successfully complete and surpass them.

Emulation, therefore, was not the mere slavish imitation of exemplary work of past masters: the artist must strive to emulate their powers of invention. Thus, emulation was considered was a key to artistic process progress. 'Tiepolo, for example, was known as a great emulator of Veronese—as was his Venetian predecessor 1659–1734). What did that mean in terms of his own 'original'artistic production? (1696–1770) never copied (1528–1588) per se, but many compositions of his depend on Veronese for narrative structure, figure types, color, etc. What made him a great emulator, someone never accused of being a mere imitator as was Ricci, was that Veronese was a point of departure, a creative spark that Tiepolo fanned with his own manner and energy.

He needed Veronese, in a way, as a place to begin, but it was never where he ended.' 21 However, there was less agreement as to whether one might emulate only one or more masters. 'Having first practiced drawing for a while' i (c. 1370–1440) recommended young artists to 'take pains and pleasure in constantly copying the best things which you can find done by the hands of the great masters. And if you are in a place where many good masters have been, so much the better for you.

But I give you this advice; take the best one every time, and the one who has the greatest reputation.' Cennini, however, warned against imitating more than one master because the practitioner's mind would become 'distracted'and 'you would not get either right.' Today, cutting edge art institutions discourage both imitation and emulation. Students rarely make copies whether they past or contemporary masters. On the other hand, since modern (ambitious) figurative painters, who work in relative isolation, are rarely concerned with complex narratives or compositions, they tend to emulate only the technical features of great artists of the past. The most frequently emulated artists range from (1856–1925), to (1825–1905), (1599 –1660 ) and at times, (1606 –1669). Engraving & Etching Woodcut, engraving and etching were the principal methods of making prints before the invention of photography.

To make an engraving, a plate, usually of copper, is cut with a burin (a sharp gouging tool). The plate is put in a press and ink rolled onto it. The ink is retained in the cuts and transferred to the paper.

Some of the paintings, such as the Netherlandish, are connected with specific engravings by other artists. The advantage of etching over engraving is that the lines can be made with something of the freedom of drawing. En Plein Air from: En plein air (Fr.: outdoors) is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. Artists had to some extent painted outdoors, but in the mid-nineteenth century, working in natural light became particularly important to the Barbizon school, Hudson River School, and Impressionists. The Newlyn School in England is considered another major proponent of the technique in the latter nineteenth century.

The popularity of painting en plein air increased in the 1840s with the introduction of paints in tubes (like those for toothpaste). Previously, painters made their own paints by grinding and mixing dry pigment powders with linseed oil.

The act of outdoor painting from observation has been continually popular well into twentifirst century. It was during the mid-nineteenth century that the box easel, typically known as the French box easel or field easel, was invented. It is uncertain who developed it, but these highly portable easels with telescopic legs and built-in paint box and made it easier to go into the forest and up the hillsides. Still made today, they remain a popular choice (even for home use) since they fold up to the size of a and thus are easy to store. The Pochade Box is a compact box that allows the artist to keep all of their supplies and palette within the box and have the work on the inside of the lid. Some designs allow for a larger canvas which can be held by clamps built into the lid. There are designs which can also hold a few wet painting canvases or panels within the lid.

These boxes have a rising popularity as while they are mainly used for plein air painting, can also be used in the studio, home, or classroom. Since pochade boxes are mainly used for painting on location, the canvas or work surface may be small, usually not more than 20 inches (50 cm). Challenges include the type of paint used to paint outdoors, animals, bugs, onlookers, and environmental conditions such as weather.

May harden and dry quickly in warm, sunny weather and it cannot be reused. On the opposite side of the spectrum is the challenge of painting in moist or damp conditions with precipitation. The advent of plein air painting predated the invention of acrylics.

The traditional and well-established method of painting en plein air incorporates the use of oil paint. Have long remarked that Vermeer is one of the most self-effacing painters of all times. The artist-art historian Lawrence Gowing summarized the problem of comprehending the Vermeer and his work when he wrote: 'What kind of man was Vermeer? Here is the ambiguity. We may examine the pictures from corner to corner and still be uncertain. It seems as if he was of a god-like detachment, more balanced, more civilized, more accomplished, and more immune from the infection of his time than any painter before or since'.

Exhibition/Art Exhibition See also, and An art is the space in which art objects meet an audience, universally understood to be for a temporary period, making it fundamentally different from an art collection. In American English, exhibitions may be called 'exhibit,' 'exposition' (the French word) or 'show.' In UK English, they are always called 'exhibitions' or 'shows' and an individual item in the show is an 'exhibit.' Art expositions may present pictures, drawings, video, sound, installation, performance, interactive art, new media art or sculptures by individual artists, groups of artists or collections of a specific form of art. The artworks may be presented in museums, art halls, art clubs or private art galleries, or at some place the principal business of which is not the display or sale of art, such as a coffeehouse.

An important distinction is noted between those exhibits where some or all of the works are for sale, normally in private art galleries, and those where they are not, such as public museums. Sometimes the event is organized on a specific occasion, like a birthday, anniversary or commemoration, but often important exhibitions are almost always organized around a historic period, geographical location, artist, group of artists, art movement, theme or a combination of these features. Sometimes exhibitions are simply works from drawn from a private collection or public institution. Exhibitions often present the occasion to assemble works together that are dispersed throughout the globe and have never been shown together, allowing curators and the public to make more meaningful comparisons between them.

Interpretive exhibitions require carefully managed context. They are often accompanied by explanatory panels, illustrated and, occasionally, interactive displays to aid the visitor's understanding of background and concepts. Major exhibitions are overseen by a curator who, along with other specialists, write illustrated exhibition catalogues, both of which may require considerable expense and years of research and planning. In ancient Greek and Roman It is known that artists exhibited their works prior to being installed in public buildings, although the works shown were considered offerings to deities rather than for public enjoyment or education. Later, in the the situation remained the same but by the seventeenth century, artists began to stage rudimentary exhibitions in artistic capitals such as Rome, Venice, and Florence in conjunction with religious celebrations, and it was during this time that artists realized they could use these exhibitions to help establish their own reputations. However, the art exhibition as we know it began to play a crucial part in the market for new art since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. E in Paris was responsible for the state’s educational program in the fine arts held its first exhibition in 1667 for the court society only, but by 1725 the exhibition moved to the and was open to the general public where it became known simply as the Salon, It rapidly became the key factor in determining the reputation, and so the price, of the works of French artists.

The soon established a similar influence on the market, and in both countries artists strove to produce artworks that that would meet approval, often changing the direction of their style to meet popular or critical taste. The was added to the London scene in 1805, holding two annual exhibitions, one of new British art for sale. These exhibitions received lengthy and detailed reviews in the press, which were the main vehicle for the art criticism of the day. Among the most important exhibitions are;, 1824, The, 1863, The first 'Impressionists' show, 1874, The first 1903, the, 1913,, 1937 and, 1951. Following over 310 exhibitions have been staged with one or more of his paintings, the earliest recorded being 1838. Most of these exhibitions featured works of other painters although a few only works by Vermeer.

The (see image above-left) with 21 paintings by Vermeer remains among the most ambitious—it is highly probable that even during Vermeer's lifetime so many paintings were never on view in the same environment— and visited art exhibitions ever staged (attendance, 327,551). The exhibition drew extraordinary crowds, and free passes were required for admission at all times. Lines for daily passes grew longer each morning. Beginning on November 24, hours were extended until 7 p.m. Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and from February 1, until 9 p.m.

For a complete list of exhibitions which featured one or more paintings by Vermeer,. For a list of exhibitions by individual pictures,. Exhibition Catalogue See also, and An exhibition catalogue documents the contents of an, ideally providing a forum for critical dialogue between, and. The notion of a separate catalogue of text and labels dates back to nineteenth century. Today, exhibition catalogues printed by major art institutions can be far more detailed than the catalogues of their permanent collections and take the form form of substantial books, with hundreds of illustrations and pages becoming comprehensive sources for even rather large subject areas. Catalogues may range in scale from a single printed sheet to a lavish hardcover 'coffee table books.' The advent of more economical color-printing in the 1960s spawned large-scale catalogues.

The largest were produced were in the 1970, with some that contained with over a thousand pages. This trend was led in Britain, and in the United States by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Such catalogues typically require years of research and planning to produce and are often written by more than one art specialist, each one covering different areas of research. Due to the economic downturns.

For example, rather than a traditional printed catalogue, the Philadelphia Museum of Art posted a digital 'gallery guide' for its exhibition Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris, allowing online visitors to visit the exhibition remotely. Other museums opted for mini-catalogues, generally for smaller exhibitions. Production costs of a 250-300 page catalogue ranged from $150,000 to $250,000. Thus, while the museums that stage the exhibitions would prefer e-books to traditional paper catalogues for economical reasons, those who lend artworks frequently demand a catalogue and reproduction rights for their pictures—the holders of copyright are reluctant to give permission for digital publishing for fear of high-resolution images being pirated. It is often held that the value of works prominently featured in grand exhibition catalogues may increase their economic value.

False Attachment False attachment describes an optical phenomenon whereby a part of one object is juxtaposed near a second object in such a manner that the lines, shapes or tones of the separate objects seem to join up with the result that they appear to occupy the same plane, thereby creating spatial ambiguity. The false attachment is a popular trick practiced by the amateur photographer who manipulates the pose of his friend in his camera's viewfinder so that he will appear to engage an unlikely object in the distant background, such as Ferris wheel or another large object. But architects and painters are always taught to avoid them because they corrupt three-dimensional spatial reading. False attachments are found abundantly dispersed throughout Vermeer's oeuvre. Some of the most striking are those found in the,,, and.

There are used with such insistence that they must have been rationally determined so we can reasonably presume that the artist was indeed interested in how flat shapes relate to one another on the picture plane, a consideration that was not a part of seventeenth-century composition. Although false attachments appear from time to time in the work of other interior painters, most seem to be casual occurrences. A few, perhaps, were influenced by Vermeer, such those in 's (1629–1667) (c.

1664-1666) and (c. 1664-1666), both pictures which have been traditionally linked to Vermeer's single figured works of the 1660s for their evident affinities in compositional organization and light. Another work, (early 1660s) by Quirijn van Brekelenkam ( (16/79), features a carefully composed domestic interior in which the lower corner of a large ebony-framed landscape fits snugly against the gentleman's right-hand profile just as one might have expected from Vermeer. Fame Great reputation and recognition; renown. Fame is known to sometimes be a mixed blessing, and can be confused with notoriety or clever marketing.

Fame has always been considered as one of the fundamental motivations for artists of all types. Since times it was understood that great artists brought fame not only to themselves but to their native city and country. Artists strove to achieve the fame and memory of the great artists of antiquity by creating works that would be admired for their religious piety, classical erudition, beauty, and naturalism.

Artistic fame generally suggests being valued in one's own lifetime as well as leaving a significant trace of their art for posterity. Immanuel Kant gave three standards for great art that stands the test of time: 1) originality (the first of its kind in a certain style), 2) exemplarity (others will want to imitate that style) and 3) inimitability (the art is so unique that others won't really be able to imitate it). Sometimes, perhaps more so in modern times, fame has to do as much with the quality of one's artistic production as with the persona of the artist. To offer a notable example, ( 1881–1973). From the National Gallery website: The role artists played in enhancing the fame of their homeland and their native city was profoundly appreciated in the Netherlands. This concept, one of the subthemes of ' s(1511–1574) influential Lives of the Artists, was given a northern flavor by (1548–1606) in his Het Schilderboeck (The Book of Painting) of 1604.

It also figured in the individual histories of Dutch cities published during the seventeenth century, including Dirck van Bleyswijck's(Description of the City of Delft), published in 1667, the very year that Vermeer executed painting. It is appropriate that Clio holds her trumpet, a symbol of fame, directly beneath a view of the Hof in The Hague, the seat of government. It is also telling that the artist has begun his painting by depicting Clio's laurel wreath, a symbol of honor and glory. Bleyswijck commented that artists bring glory and distinction to their respective cities, but he lamented that too often fame comes to them only after death.

Bound by convention to limit his praise to artists already deceased, Bleyswijck listed Vermeer only as one of the artists active in Delft; he did not include one word about Vermeer's work. To the reader of this history of Delft, Vermeer remains as indistinguishable from his contemporaries as the artist in this painting. Indeed, while Vermeer probably depicted his artist from the rear to assert the universality of his allegory, he may also have done so to emphasize the anonymity experienced by the artist during his lifetime even as he brings fame and glory to his homeland. Faux from: French for false, artificial, fake. English speakers say 'faux' to give a high-toned quality to what is often an imitation of a natural material—leather, fur, metal, or stone for example. Although faux materials are usually less expensive than the real thing, there can be other advantages to them: durability, uniformity, weight, color, and availability perhaps. There can be allegorical advantages too (falsity can have its purposes!) particularly when juxtaposed with opulence.

Faux finishes are painted simulations of other materials—the look of their colors and textures. Examples include: stones (marble, granite, sandstone, malachite, porphyry, serpentine, lapis, etc.), wood (also called faux bois—false wood), masonry, and metal (gold, silver,and bronze, along with all of their potential patinas). A faux marble might be a substitute like terrazzo or scagliola, each of which employ marble dust in a plaster binder to result in a hard material that will take a polish. See the article on 'marbling' for a discussion of marbling papers as well as faux-marbling as a painting technique. Female Dutch Painters from: Marianne Berardi, 'Netherlandish Artists (1600–1800).' In Women's Studies Encyclopedia, ed. Helen Tierney.

Greenwood Press, 2002. Nearly 250 women artists, amateur and professional, were recorded in the Low Countries (present-day Holland and Belgium) between the mid-sixteenth and the late eighteenth centuries. A small number were well known in their native Holland or (Flanders, although they never enjoyed international distinction. These artists include such figures as genre/portrait painter (1609–1660) and watercolorist Margaretha de Heer.

An even smaller group, including still life specialists 1630–1693)and (1664—1750), won international artistic recognition. Their accomplishments were discussed in the major biograph ies of Netherlandish painters by (1660–1719) and Johan van Gool, and their work attracted the patronage of European nobility.

Unlike Italy, France, and Spain, where artwork was almost exclusively made-to-order for the very wealthy, in seventeenth-century Holland, art became a portable commodity affordable to the middle class. This development encouraged a diversity of and techniques, and consequently Dutch painters were the first Europeans to develop fully the genres of still life, seascape, townscape, landscape, and scenes from everyday life. Women artists, however, tended to avoid certain subjects. Unable to study from the nude, most could not acquire enough proficiency to compose groups of human figures in action, as was necessary for painting successful historical or religious subjects. Seascapes or town views were seldom popular subjects, perhaps because women needed chaperones to study them.

With the exception of wax modeling and silhouette cutting, few women produced much sculpture. Although there were exceptions, the majority of Netherlandish women painters practiced still life and/or. For women artists of the north, the portrait tradition seems to have peaked not in the golden age of painting but in the century preceding it with (Bruges, c. 1520–1576) and (1528-after 1587, Antwerp).

Figurative The term 'figurative' is often used simply to mean that an image contains recognizable images (i.e., that it is not abstract or non-objective). Since this usage does not distinguish between literal and figurative, it is considerably less precise. Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—that is clearly derived from real object sources, and is therefore by definition representational. 'Figurative art' is often defined in contrast to abstract art: Since the arrival of abstract art the term figurative has been used to refer to any form of modern art that retains strong references to the real world. Painting and sculpture can therefore be divided into the categories of figurative, representational and abstract, although, strictly speaking, abstract art is derived (or abstracted) from a figurative or other natural source. However, 'abstract' is sometimes used as a synonym for non-representational art and non-objective art, i.e.

Art which has no derivation from figures or objects. Figurative art is not synonymous with figure painting (art that represents the human figure), although human and animal figures are frequent subjects. Figure-Ground The relationship of the picture surface () to the images on the (figure). The figure is the space occupied by forms (e.g., a person in a ) (also known as the 'positive' space); the ground is the 'empty' or unoccupied space around the person in the portrait (also known as the 'negative' space) The ground is also commonly called the '.' In art since the early twentieth century, this division of the picture plane has been seriously challenged, to the point where there is no longer a distinction of figure/ground, but rather one continuous surface and space, with no 'positive' or 'negative' space, just one, interwoven space.

Vermeer's awareness of the expressive power of the relationship between figure and ground,, has no equal in European easel painting. In the single-figure paintings of the mid 1660s he precisely determined the form of negative shapes which surround the standing women in order to restrict any sense of physical movement. The figures are imbued with a sense of stability and permanence which comparative genre painters were rarely even aware of. What perhaps is even more astounding is that the attention which he affords to the formal relationship of figure and ground never interferes with the naturalistic reading of the painting or feels contrived. Lawrence Gowing ( Vermeer, 1952) certainly had the play of negative and positive shapes in mind when he wrote, 'Nothing else evokes the impression, certainly no printed reproduction, nothing but the canvas itself: we see, large and plain, a mosaic of shapes which bear equally on one another. They are clasped together by their nature, holding each other to every other in its natural embrace. We see a surface which has the absolute embedded flatness of inlay, of tarsia.

And in an instant we recognize its shapes as emblems which carry in their stillness the force of the real world.' Fijnschilder (Fine Painter) Although in the seventeenth century the Dutch term fijnschilder was used to differentiate between a painter practicing refined techniques and one who, for instance, is a house painter, in the nineteenth century it became associated with (1613–1675), (1635–1681, Sr.

And Adriaen van der Werff—all among the most successful painters of the Dutch Baroque. These painters were identifiable by their 'fine' manner, exquisite techniques, and extreme attention to detail resulting in works with smooth surfaces completely lacking painterly brush strokes. The application of paint contrasts with the textures and style of other Dutch painters, such as (c.

1582–1666) and Dou's teacher (1606 –1669) who worked prevalently in the (rough) mode. Dou painted in the that his teacher Rembrandt had employed in his Leiden years. Unlike Rembrandt, however, Dou remained loyal to this exquisite manner of painting. Thanks to influential pupils such as (16/79, ), (1629–1667), (1643–1706) and, this polished style of painting became a specialty of Leiden artists. In the style of the fijnschilders—minutely proportioned subjects with bright colors, a shiny finish, and precise attention to detail— painted on wood or copper panels rarely larger than fifteen square inches. He represented common incidents in the lives of the lower working class as well as the habits and customs of the wealthy.

His paintings were highly acclaimed in his lifetime and earned Van Mieris a great deal of money. Unfortunately, he wasted his fortune through alcoholism and poor management of his finances. Although contemporaries recognized Van Mieris as one of the leading Dutch artists of the 1600s, his paintings, like those of (1613–1675), fell into relative obscurity after the end of the nineteenth century and only on the late twentieth century has his work begun to be reevaluated.

Although Vermeer was certainly influenced by the themes and compositions of the fijnschilders, his concept of pictorial rendering is fundamentally divergent from theirs. Vermeer never seem to have been seriously lured by the microscopic detail which had made the fijnschilders work prized throughout Europe. His stark, strictly organized interiors contrast with the essentially picturesque character Dou's and Van Mieris' work and seem almost barren in comparison. Although Vermeer shares their interest in the representation of texture and the activity of light, he subtly suggests rather than describes those qualities. Moreover, Vermeer's use is less defined leaving room for the observer's imagination to come into play. Correctly points out that Vermeer's paintings are essentially 'poetic' rather than 'narrative.' Fine Art from: In European academic traditions, fine art is art developed primarily for aesthetics or beauty, distinguishing it from applied art that also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork.

Historically, the five main fine arts were painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and poetry, with performing arts including theatre and dance. Today, the fine arts commonly include additional forms, such as film, photography, video production/editing, design, sequential art, conceptual art, and printmaking. However, in some institutes of learning or in museums, fine art and frequently the term fine arts as well, are associated exclusively with visual art forms. Until the English Arts & Crafts Movement of the late nineteenth century, there was a rigid distinction between fine art (purely ) and decorative art (functional). During the twentieth century, with the introduction of the category of visual art, this arbitrary distinction has become blurred, and certain crafts or decorative arts (notably ceramics) are now considered to be fine art. As originally conceived, and as understood for much of the modern era, the perception of aesthetic qualities required a refined judgment usually referred to as having good taste, which differentiated fine art from popular art and entertainment.

Flat/Flatness (in the painting of shadows) The content of the following entry is drawn from: Paul Taylor, ' Flatness in Dutch Art: Theory and Practice', Oud Holland, 121 (2008), pp. 'Vlak' (in modern Dutch-English dictionaries translated as 'flat' or 'level') was a key term in the aesthetics of seventeenth-century Holland.

However, flatness suggested not a flatness of the paints themselves on the support of the artwork, but rather a visual flatness, an impression that the objects depicted have no or little relief. This kind of flatness is clearly visible in Dutch drawings of the time, where divisions between light and shade are abrupt.

The modeling from light to shade is not continuous but minimized to a few essential tones. This technique, usually discussed in Dutch art treatises in relation to drawing rather than painting, lends an immediate force and liveliness to the image.

The history of flatness in Dutch painting can be traced back over a hundred years to 's (1548–1606) first published in 1604, but it was also discussed by (1627–1678), Willem Goeree (1635-1711) and (1641–1711), the latter of whom, deprecated its abuse. The use of the flat shadow technique was not confined to the Netherlands. It stands in contrast with the developed in the first half of the sixteenth century and perfected by artist such as (1452–1519), Michelangelo, (1483–1520), (c. 1477/8–1510and (1489–1534). In Van Hoogstraten's of 1678, there is a revealing passage on the use of flat shadows in regards to drawing.

But whether you begin or end with the shadows, you should split them up in your mind into lesser and greater, and depict each in a flat manner, according to its darkness; for by working them too much, and melting them in, all your work would turn to copper; and you would even lose the capacity to judge it. Flesh (the painting of) Painting flesh, in Dutch 'Koleur der Naakten,' has always been and, among figurative painters, still is considered one of the most demanding and potentially rewarding tasks for the artist. (1641–1711), the Dutch artist and theoretician, wrote in his Groot Schilderboek, 'Having extensively and carefully studied this matter I find there is so much to say about it [painting flesh] that it is impossible to fit in one chapter.' Painting flesh was not only difficult, it was important. Willem Beur, an artist and art writer of Vermeer's time, wrote, 'Just as we humans consider ourselves the foremost amongst animals; so too, are we the foremost subject of the art of paintings, and it is in painting human flesh that its highest achievements are to be seen, whenever a painter succeeds in rendering the diversity of colors and strong hues found in human flesh and particularly in the faces, adequately depicting the intricacy of the diversity of people or their different emotions.' Painting flesh is difficult for many reasons.

'The appearance of skin to obtain information about age, health or emotional state of another human being. Therefore, flaws in the representation of skin will easily be noticed.

Secondly, skin is by its very nature a very complex substance. Skin colour seems monochrome, yet is actually composed of many subtle nuances, just like the texture of skin seems even, but at a close look, seamlessly joins soft and rough, wrinkled and smooth zones; skin moreover is neither opaque nor translucent, but both, which creates complex shadows and interreflections. Last but not least, skin can appear different in each individual person, depending on gender, race etc.' The Allegory of Painting Frans van Mieris 1661 Oil on copper, 5 x 3 1/2 in. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angles One of the great difficulties of painting is determining the of the flesh, its numerous nuances and the rendering its natural translucency.

The Great Masters learned to describe this translucency using not so much different colored paints set side by side but successive translucent layers of paint carefully superimposed on one another. Wax museum artists later found that adding a layer of translucent material to the outer layer of mannequins makes them appear more lifelike. Flesh colors do not seem to belong to the basic color wheel with which contemporary painters sometimes consult and it varies greatly from individual and from area to area of the same individual.

Areas that receive more blood, like the cheeks and nose, are likely to be redder and more saturated, while areas that contain veins close to the surface of the skin may be desaturated or take on a blue cast. Painters learned to exploit the optical effect called the turbid medium effect to create the subtle blues and greens of natural flesh by superimposing light translucent pink paint over darker layers of warm brown underpainting. Nonetheless, the great part of painters of the past used few pigments to render flesh. In (1635–1681) Allegory of Painting (see image left), we see that the conspicuously displayed palette shows only seven pigments which might be considered the standard seventeenth-century Dutch palette for depicting a variety of skin tones. Sometimes, not only the basic pigments are represented on palettes, but mixtures of different pigments which will serve to depict various shades of illuminated and shadowed parts of flesh are also represented. Similar, restricted palates are seen in many other paintings.

In general, paint mixtures used to represent male flesh contained more yellow while for fair female flesh (the illuminated parts) white lead and a touch of vermilion was sufficient. 'This idea that nature, although it is deficient in every other respect, deserves to be followed by the colourist, is an important concept in 's(1641–1711)art theory.

Much of his criticism of other painters is based on the claim that their colouring, or their treatment of light and shade, is unnatural. And indeed in the last of the three chapters on flesh painting in the Groot Schilderboek, de Lairesse gives us some interesting criticisms of the unnatural colours of ' (1577–1640) and (1606 –1669). He there describes Rubens' style of colouring as 'a coarse gaudiness', 'een rauwe bontigheid', and writes that Rembrandt, while trying to attain mellowness, 'murwheid', had fallen into ripeness and rottenness, 'de ryp en rottigheid'. Whether or not we agree with the value judgments implied in these criticisms, they do make an accurate observation, namely, that the overall hue of Rembrandt's nudes is more uniform than that of Rubens' nudes, and that there is a certain calming, smoky softness to the Dutchman's painted skin which the more energetic, alert flesh painting of the Fleming does not share.

De Lairesse was surely right to say that the painters of his time were less interested in 'following nature' than in developing the traditions for depicting skin which they had inherited from their predecessors.' From a technical point of view, Vermeer's faces appear to be adequately depicted in comparison to those of his contemporaries. A few, however, are decidedly are under par.

While in the worst cases () this may depend on the degradation of those paint layers most vulnerable to damage such as glazes and final touches applied during the final stages of the painting process, or by overzealous restoration, the artist seemed not to have been allured by the challenge of complex coloring of flesh tones which was the raison d'etre of Dutch portraitists and for which painters like Rembrandt and (c. 1582–1666) had become the most sought-after painters of their times. Never once do we encounter those healthy, full-blooded youths and fair little faces which populate Dutch genre painting. In most cases Vermeer's coloring of flesh is conventional with no more indulgence than a bit of extra red in the lips and cheeks. However, Vermeer did later his palette for the flesh tones depending on the intensity of light and the overall coloring of the composition.

Perhaps, the two best renderings of flesh colors in Vermeer's oeuvre can be observed in the and the in New York. In these two works, the handling of flesh tones is as subtle as it is unobtrusive. It is likely that the particularly finessed flesh colors of the Study of a Young Woman (see image left) are preserved far better than the more famous counterpart whose coloring appears slightly 'washed-out' from a technical point of view. Curiously, Vermeer experimented with a unusual te wherein, a dull green, was used as the basic component for the shadows. Unfortunately, the fine warm glazes which once were applied over the underlayers of green in the deepest shadows have degraded or been removed by restorations and now appears quite unnatural (see the ).

It is likely that the best conserved of this group of late works is the radiant. Although Vermeer's women resonate with spirituality, it is drawn less from how their faces are depicted rather than by their posture and the obsessive care with which the overall composition is crafted. Black and white floor tiles are one of the most characteristic features of Vermeer’s interior works, although Dutch genre painting offers many chances to delight in similar motifs. To be sure, tiled floors, many with elaborate multi-colored patterns, had been a leitmotif of history painting with architectural settings following the invention of.

In Dutch marble tiles make their debut in the first decades of the seventeenth century. Willemijn Fock, a historian of the decorative arts of the Netherlands, maintains that it is highly improbable that the marble floors that appear so often in Dutch interior painting were painted directly from life. Such a luxury item could be found only in the homes of the rich and, thus, were beyond reach of both Vermeer and his mother-in-law,, with whom he lived and in whose house he kept his studio. Moreover, there is no historical evidence of marble floors where used above the ground floor second floor (remembering that Vermeer’s was on the second floor). Period inventories reveal that marble floors in domestic settings were generally restricted to one room, the voorhuis (the main entrance), where they would have most impressed visitors. To see real marble floors Vermeer could have visited the or the. The painting of marble tiles must have had a three-fold propose for Dutch interior artists: to intensify the illusion of, to showcase the artist’s command of perspective and to create richly decorated environments that would appeal to upper-class clients.

'Adelson's Illusion' Edward H. Adelson There are two types of tiles in Vermeer’s painting: ceramic and marble.

According to, the minute cracks and chips of the ceramic tiles in and suggest that they were observed and therefore. Steadman discovered that the side measurement of these tiles is exactly half of that of the larger black and white marble tiles, allowing four ceramic tiles to fit into a single marble tile.

This might suggest that Vermeer painted the marble floors in a room which contained cheaper ceramic tiles, exploiting their underlying geometric grid to project the larger tiles. Over this grid, different patterns could be easily generated according to the compositional exigencies of each work. There are essentially three of marble tiles in Vermeer’s paintings. 'In The Music Lesson alone, separate white tiles are framed in a lattice of black stripes. In alone, a pattern of what can be read as white Maltese crosses, each made from five tiles, is set on a black background. In the six remaining pictures the colors are reversed, to make a pattern of black crosses on a white ground.' I In one painting only,, do the tiles meet the base of the background wall at an intermediate point rather than cutting them in half into two neat triangles.

The fact that Vermeer’s tiles exhibit no reflections—in reality they would have been polished—would suggest that they were invented, although he could have easily eliminated the for aesthetic reasons. Representing the variations of brightness on a checkered floor tile is more complex than with the whitewashed wall because the artist must modify simultaneously the (and to some degree the ) of the two differently colored tiles. For every change in tone of a white tile, the adjacent black must be proportionately modified. Owing to the sharp contrast between the black and white pattern, and the mechanism of brightness constancy, it becomes exceptionally problematic for the painter to 'see' the broader tonal relationships of the floor.

The well-known diagram by Edward Adelson (MIT: see image left) illustrates the difficulties of evaluating the relative values of tones when applied to the checkered floor motif. Even when the viewer is informed that squares 'A' and 'B' of Aldeson’s floor are precisely the same tonal value, the perceptual system 'corrects' them to make them look as if they were differently colored tiles, with the result that white tile labeled 'A' strikes the viewer as intrinsically darker than tile labeled 'B,' although in actuality it is not. This is because from a biological standpoint there is nothing to be gained by understanding the absolute tones of the tiles. Instead, understanding brightness in relative terms allows us construe a plausible picture of a cylinder which projects a shadow on a checkered floor.

The perceptual forces at play in brightness constancy are complex and are probably elaborated on different levels of the optical system. The artist, then, must find ways to undo this correction in order to render the tiled floor realistically, otherwise, his floor will seem to have no particular light.

Bouquet of Flowers Ambrosius Bosschaert c. 1619-1620 Oil on copper, 27.9. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles The Dutch prized flowers and lower paintings; by the early seventeenth century, both were a national passion. Flowers were appreciated for beauty and fragrance and not simply for their value as medicine, herbs, or dyestuffs.

Exotic new species from around the globe were avidly sought by botanists and gardeners. Paintings immortalized these treasures and made them available to study—and they gave sunny pleasure even in winter. Viewers could see—almost touch and smell—the blossoms. The Dutch were entranced most of all by flowering bulbs, especially tulips. After arriving in the Netherlands, probably in the 1570s, tulips remained a luxurious rarity cheaper varieties turned the urban middle classes into avid collectors. The Dutch interest in tulips was also popularized around Europe, as visitors to the Netherlands were taken with these exotic flowers and with Dutch gardening prowess in general.

At the same time, a futures market was established. Buyers contracted to purchase as-yet-ungrown bulbs at a set price, allowing bulbs to be traded at any time of the year. On paper, the same bulb could quickly change hands many times over. Speculation drove prices upward.

The price of a Semper Augustus was 1,000 guilders in 1623, twice that in 1625, and up to 5,000 guilders in 1637. The average price of a bulb that year was 800 guilders, twice what a master carpenter made annually.

A single tulip bulb could command as much as a fine house with a garden. A rising interest in botany and a passion for flowers led to an increase in painted floral still lifes at the end of the 1500s in both the Netherlands and Germany. (1573–1621) was the first great Dutch specialist in fruit and flower painting and the head of a family of artists. He established a tradition that influenced an entire generation of fruit and flower painters in the Netherlands. Foreground The area of the picture space nearest to the viewer, immediately behind the, is known as the foreground.

An understanding of developed in the early fifteenth century allowing painters to divide space behind the picture plane into foreground, middleground and. In the foreground, the figures and objects appear larger than those in the middle—or background because of their apparent proximity. They are painted with greater detail than things farther away, since only at close range would such detail be visible.

The Lamentation over the Dead Christ Andrea Mantegna c. 1490 Tempera on canvas, 68 x 81 cm. Pinacoteca di Brera, Brera, Italy Foreshortening is the diminishing of the dimensions of an object or figure in order to depict it in a correct spatial relationship, creating a very strong, at times uncanmny, sense of what might be called 'localized depth,' becasue foreshortening is almost invariably used in relation to a single object, or part of an object, rather than to a scene or group of objects. In realistic depiction, foreshortening is necessary because although lines and planes that are perpendicular to the observer's line of vision (central visual ray), and the extremities of which are equidistant from the eye, will be seen at their full size, when they are revolved away from the observer they will seem increasingly shorter. Thus for example, a figure's arm outstretched toward the observer must be foreshortened—the dimension of lines, contours and angles adjusted—in order that it not appear hugely out of proportion.

The term foreshortening is applied to the depiction of a single object, figure or part of an object or figure, whereas the term perspective refers to the depiction of an entire scene. Of the different types of perspective, foreshortening was the first to be mastered: as the vase paintings reveal, the first experiments with the technique were made in sixth century B.C.

In ancient Greece while its principles were fully understood by the fifth. This illusionist technique was rediscovered during the by (1397–1475), and (c. 1430–1515), many of whose works have been lost. Virgin of the Rocks (detail) Leonardo da Vince c.

1483–1485 Oil on canvas (wood added to canvas in 1806), 199 x 122 cm. Louvre, Paris One of the great paintings of the fifteenth century, Lamentation over the Dead Christ (see image upper left) by (1431–1506) is probably the most celebrated example of foreshortening in all renaissance art.

It depicts the corpse of Jesus on a marble slab, watched over by the weeping Virgin Mary and Saint John. 'A sketcher or painter is likely to shorten objects slightly differently from a camera. This is because, while a camera never lies, an artist may not wish to replicate the full brutal effect of foreshortening. Instead, he will often reduce the relative dimensions of the nearer part of the object (in the case of The Lamentation, the feet) so as to make a slightly less aggressive assault on the viewer's eye and incorporate the truncated image more harmoniously into the overall composition. Indeed, this is exactly what Mantegna did in The Lamentation.

He deliberately reduced the size of Jesus's feet so as not to block our view of the body. Whereas, if a photograph was taken from the same angle, the feet would have been so big that they would have obscured our view of the legs and torso.' 28 Leonardo employed foreshortened hand coming towards the observer with great daring, such as the hand of the Louvre The Virgin of the Rocks (c. 1483–1485; see image left).

Dutch painters such as (1606–1669) and (c. 1582–1666) often took advantage of the dramatic effect of foreshortening to enliven the otherwise static poses of their portraits. Vermeer too applied foreshortening with various degrees of success in his early works although one feels he is not entirely comfortable with its implementation. One of the most successful examples of foreshortening in Vermeer's work can be, oddly enough, in one of his first compositions,. The foreshortening of Mary's slightly tilted head is so effortlessly achieved that it comes to a surprise see how the artist seems to struggle with the problem of the milkmaid's arm () painted some years later.

Particularly idiosyncratic treatments of foreshortening can be seen in the artist's bulbous hand in and the writing hand of the mistress in. More conventional solutions can be observed in and.

Form In relation to art the term form has two meanings. The first refers to the overall form taken by the work— its physical nature.

The second meaning refers to one of the so-called seven, which are the visual tools that an artist uses to a work of art. In painting, form and are closely related. Both 'form' and 'shape' define objects situated in space. The basic difference between the two is that form describes something three dimensional while shape is a, enclosed area of an artwork created through lines,, or an area enclosed by other shapes.

In drawing and painting, the illusion of three-dimensional form is conveyed through the use of and, and the rendering of. While painting consists of the elements of line, color, texture, space,, and format as well as form, sculpture consists almost exclusively of form. Formalism In art theory, formalism is the concept that a work's artistic value is entirely determined by its form—the way it is made, its purely visual aspects, and its. Formalism emphasizes compositional elements such as color, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context, and content. In visual art, formalism is a concept that posits that everything necessary to comprehending a work of art is contained within the work of art.

The context for the work, including the reason for its creation, the historical background, and the life of the artist, is considered to be of secondary importance. Formalism is an approach to understanding art. In 1890, the Post-impressionist painter (1870–1943) wrote in his article 'Definition of Neo-Traditionism' that a painting was 'essentially a flat surface covered in colours arranged in a certain order.' Denis argued that the painting or sculpture or drawing itself, not the of the artistic work, gave pleasure to the mind. Denis' emphasis on the form of a work led the Bloomsbury writer Clive Bell to write in his 1914 book, Art, that there was a distinction between a thing's actual form and its 'significant form.' ' For Bell, recognition of a work of art as representational of a thing was less important than capturing the 'significant form', or true inner nature, of a thing.

Bell pushed for an art that used the techniques of an artistic medium to capture the essence of a thing (its 'significant form') rather than its mere outward appearance. In the early twentieth century, the formalist art movement began to see in Vermeer's quietist interiors a comfortable precedent for their own formalist agenda. The artist's subject matter was unceremoniously dispensed with: the bony picture frames, box-like spinets, maps and floor tiles, which had once been taken for what they seemed to be, became so many rectangles, splotches of color and diagonal lines of a formalist discourse, a dry run for Mondrian and handy proof of the universal validity formalist art theory. In a revolutionary monograph, whose echoes are still heard today, the American painter wrote 'It may be said that Vermeer's vision was as impersonal as that of any painter who has ever lived.' Vermeer, like all great rediscovered painters, was declared to have 'anticipated' an art movement of his own. And as other forgotten masters before him, he received the honorary title of 'the first modern painter.'

Since then, Vermeer had become a 'painter's painter', and for Hale, 'the supreme painter.' He wrote that while ' were giants.such as (1599–1660), (1577–1640) and (1606 –1669), who did very wonderful things.none of these ever conceived of arriving a tone by an exquisitely just relation of colour values—the essence of contemporary painting that is really good.

(.) We of today particularly admire Vermeer because he has attacked what seem to us significant problems or motives, and has solved them, on the whole, as we like to see them solved. (.) By and large, Vermeer has more great painting qualities and fewer defects than any other painter of any time or place.' 29, who formerly bespoke of independence and wholesomeness, were transformed into aesthetic components of a 'rectangular-arabesque' abstract compositional scheme.

The impersonal Vermeer lasted all the way to mid century when Erich Gombrich wrote in the historic The History of Art that Vermeer painted with people. Debunked as a maker of l'art pour l'homme, Vermeer was promoted to the stature as a maker of l'art pour l'arte. One of the weak points of the formalist approach—if one holds that the artist's intentions have something to do with the art he produces—is that there exists not a shred of historical evidence that suggests that Vermeer or, for that matter, Dutch painters in general, though shapes, lines forms and color had per se any value. No one dared disparage subject matter at the expense of pure aesthetics. Painting was discussed uniquely as narrative and/or artful construction:painting was essentially a fictive three-dimensional space filled with people and objects and not a planimetric organization of formal elements independent from subject matter.

Formal Analysis 'Formal analysis is a specific type of visual description. Unlike ekphrasis, it is not meant to evoke the work in the reader's mind. Instead it is an explanation of visual structure, of the ways in which certain visual elements have been arranged and function within a.

Strictly speaking, is not considered and neither is historical or cultural context. The purest formal analysis is limited to what the viewer sees. Because it explains how the eye is led through a work, this kind of description provides a solid foundation for other types of analysis. It is always a useful exercise, even when it is not intended as an end in itself. 'The British art critic Roger Fry (1866–1934) played an important role in developing the language of formal analysis we use in English today. Inspired by modern art, Fry set out to escape the interpretative writing of Victorians like Ruskin.

He wanted to describe what the viewer saw, independent of the subject of the work or its emotional impact. Relying in part upon late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century studies of visual perception, Fry hoped to bring scientific rigor to the analysis of art.

If all viewers responded to visual stimuli in the same way, he reasoned, then the essential features of a viewer's response to a work could be analyzed in absolute— rather than subjective or interpretative—terms. This approach reflected Fry's study of the natural sciences as an undergraduate.

Even more important were his studies as a painter, which made him especially aware of the importance of how things had been made.' The Adoration of the Golden Calf Nicolas Poussin 1633-1634 Oil on canv, 154 cm × 214 cm.

National Gallery, London The impact of a picture (or group of pictures) is enormously affected by how it is framed. Picture frames are generally square or rectangular, though circular and oval frames are not uncommon.

Very few pictures in major art collections are still in their original frames, although with altarpieces it is often possible to make an educated guess about the kind of complex framing structure they once had. Throughout most of the modern (that is, postmedieval) era, original frames were discarded whenever a painting changed ownership, and a new frame more suitable to the work of art’s new surroundings was provided.

Only in the late nineteenth century did and private collectors develop an interest in historical authenticity that extended to frames as well as to the objects they contained, by which time frames more than one or two hundred years old had grown exceedingly rare. Given that a good deal may be known about the original framing, art collections attempt to give pictures appropriate period frames where possible. In some cases frames are specially bought, or replicas are made. However, when a painting is in an important frame given to it at a later date this has often been retained as part of the history of the picture. An example of this is 's ( 1594–1665) Adoration of the Golden Calf, which has one of the most sumptuous and exquisitely detailed early eighteenth-century French frames known, although (1594–1665) is known to have favored simple frames. Framing See also,.

In painting, an the visual arts, framing is the presentation of visual elements in an image. The artist includes what is of interest to his and ends and excludes those which are not, delimiting what is to be seen by the spectator. Effective framing will create context, and guide the eye towards the focal point of the image. Good framing can not only draw the eye into a picture but that it keeps it there longer. Framing is primarily concerned with the position and perspective of the viewer with respect to the scene which is represented. The position of the observer has great impact on the perception of the principal, both in terms of aesthetics and meaning.

If, for example, the viewer is distant from a within a given image, the viewer will gather more information about the subjects’ surroundings than about the figure himself. If the figure were positioned in middle of empty plain, the viewer might perceive a sense of loneliness or that the subject is lost. If some foreground elements are put in front of the viewer, partially obscuring the figure, the viewer assumes the role of an unseen observer. There are as many ways to frame a scene as there are artists, although framing was largely dictated by conventional formulae and narrative necessities.

Breaking with tradition, (1571–1610) and his followers habitually framed their scenes by violently cropping of the lateral figures, which creates a sense of impermanence and unbalance, as if something discomforting is about to happen. The viewer is thrust into the pictorial space instead of viewing the scene from a comfortable, but comparatively unchallanging distance. Framing, however, is subtly different than, the latter of which instead, frames a specific object within a scene with other objects that has already been framed by the artist. To illustrate the difference between framing and sub-framing one might say the the scene of Vermeer's frames a woman standing in the corner of a room, in front of a table and large painting. A curtain and mirror hang to the left a a few tiles are seen below the. Instead, the figure of the woman is sub-framed by the which appears to wrap around her protectively.

Fugitive Color Fugitive pigments are non-permanent pigments that lighten in a relatively short time when exposed to light. Fugitive pigments are present in types of paint, markers, inks etc., which are used for temporary applications. Fugitive inks, which washed away when soaked in water, were sometimes used deliberately to prevent postage stamps being removed from envelopes by soaking, and reused (e.g., the Queen Victoria Lilac and Green Issue). While permanent pigments are usually used for paintings, painters have made work wholly or partially with fugitive pigments for a number of reasons: ignorance regarding the volatility of the pigments; being more concerned with the appearance of colors available only with fugitive pigments than with permanence, or the desire to have a painting change in appearance over time. It is believed that the curious bluish tone of the foliage in is due to the fact that the yellow lake, which mixed together with a blue creates a natural green tone, has faded with time.

One of the names given to a common yellow lake was 'schijtgeel' or 'fading yellow' as it is called. As almost every other painters of the time, Vermeer used,, a ruby red pigment noted for its brilliancy and transparency, but fugitive when applied in very thin layers. Madder is an organic pigment derived from the roots of the madder plant.

Vermeer glazed (see and for an in-depth study of artist's pigments). The rather dull appearance of some of the flesh tones in Vermeer's faces may be due to the fact that red madder has faded. Another example of a glaze which has in time faded in Vermeer's painting can be found in the. Presently, the picture's background appears uneven and spotted. During the 1994–1995 restoration, however, it became clear that this defect had been caused by the degraded pigment of a peculiar glaze used by Vermeer.

It was ascertained that the background was originally meant to have a deep greenish tone which can no longer been seen. Vermeer had glazed a very transparent layer of indigo mixed with weld over the dark black underpainting. Indigo and weld are both pigments of organic origin. Indigo is deep blue dyestuff derived from the indigo plant, weld is a natural yellow dyestuff obtained from the flowers of the wouw or woude plant as it was called in Dutch.

Mixed together with a rich (linseed oil) they form a transparent greenish tone that was evidently to add depth and a jewel-like luster to the background. Weld was widely used for dying silk since it was one of the purest and yellow shades available but was equally valuable to the artist. It seems that Vermeer used indigo by Vermeer only rarely.

Gaze To see steadily, intently, and with fixed attention. Or, any looking done in this way. Artists typically put effort into anticipating the gaze of those who will view their work. And consider how have gazed or will gaze at the various works they study. In any image of people or animals, qualities of their gaze can be of great importance. Who or what figures are looking at and why, and whether they appear to make eye contact with the viewer or the artist portraying them can be significant to understanding the of a work. Geometric Form Wherever the ends of a continuous line meet, a shape is formed.

Geometric shapes, which do not typically appear in nature, are those that have regular features and can be easily defined with mathematics. They are typically made with straight lines or shapes from geometry, including circles, ovals, triangles, rectangles, squares and other quadrilaterals, along with such polygons as pentagons, hexagons, etc. Although the great majority of and baroque paintings are domonated primarily by organic shapes, artists mixed geometric and organic shapes to accentuate one another and create visual excitement. Shapes are particularly important in painting since, more than any other visual attribute, it is by shape that we recognize objects that populate the real world. Geometric abstraction is present among many cultures throughout history both as decorative motifs and as art pieces themselves. Islamic art, in its prohibition of depicting religious figures, is a prime example of this geometric -based art. Line,,,,, and have always been fundamental building blocks of both art and mathematics, and geometry offers the most obvious connection between the two disciplines.

Throughout twentieth century, and artists who championed abstraction held that geometric abstraction represents the height of a non-objective art practice, which stresses the inherent two-dimensionality of painting as an artistic medium. Geometric abstraction rejected traditional practices of the past while addressing the two-dimensional nature of the as well as the. The importance of geometric shapes in Vermeer's paintings has always been noted.

However, must be cautious when evaluating the use of geometry deliberately as a compositonal tool in painting. In his Architecture in the Age of Humanism Rudolf Wittkower, says'... In trying to prove that a system of proportions has been deliberately applied... One is easily misled into finding...

Those ratios which one sets out to find. Compasses in the scholar's hand do not revolt.'

Despite speculations on Vermeer's composition there is no clear visual or historical evidence that the artist availed himself of mathematical concepts to compose his pictures, although most would agree that he was attracted to geometrical shapes and that he possessed an unfailing sense of proportion and interval. In Vermeer's paintings shapes are subtly abstracted to their nearest geometrical equivalent, at times to the point of becoming unrecognizable. For example, the block-like gown of the seated mistress of is defined with only a few essential planes, while the carpet covered table in n has been transformed into nothing less than a geometrical fortress, which may have entailed considerable manipulation given that such carpets were probably not stiff enough to produce such simple, structural folds by themselves. Props and figures are often set perpendicular or at 45 degrees to the picture plane. The limp contours of real satin, which remind the viewer of the fragility of luxury, are 'ironed out' into crisp, angular folds with sharp chiaroscural contrasts that can be more easily assimilated by the visual system. The dark blue gown of, whose inner creases and folds are barely indicated, is transmuted into a pure, bell-like shape which is understood only through its two graceful external contours. It is probably true that Vermeer's tendency to use of simple geometrical forms to organize and explain at least a part of his phenomenal success among savvy and the general public alike.

Most scholars believe that Vermeer derived the majority of his themes and compositions from existing genre models. Lawrence Gowing, the author of one of the most penetrating studies of the artist (, London, 1952 and 1970), clearly states: 'it would be hard to find a theme of any boldness in his work which is not based on a precedent; inquiry multiplies the evidence that the majority of his figure motifs were directly derivative.' , as well, has furnished ample evidence of the fact that Vermeer derived most of his genre subjects from well-established iconographic traditions. Although Vermeer seems to have systematically drew upon fellow genre painters such as (1617–1681), (1635–1681), (1613–1675), his closest ties are with (1629–1684). Vermeer, however, was the only genre painter who was able to confer the sense of moral seriousness and dignity associated with. Perhaps he had become aware that genre painting could adequately replace, for in and design they posed many the same problems.

Gesso from: 'Gesso', also known 'glue gesso' or 'Italian gesso' is a traditional mix of an animal glue binder (usually rabbit-skin glue), chalk, and white pigment, used to coat rigid surfaces such as wooden painting panels as an absorbent primer coat substrate for painting. The colour of gesso was usually white or off-white.

Its absorbency makes it work with all painting media, including water-based media, different types of tempera, and oil paint. It is also used as a base on three-dimensional surfaces for the application of paint or gold leaf. Mixing and applying it is an art form in itself since it is usually applied in 10 or more extremely thin layers. It is a permanent and brilliant white substrate used on wood, masonite and other surfaces. The standard hide glue mixture is rather brittle and susceptible to cracking, thus making it suitable for rigid surfaces only.

For priming flexible canvas, an emulsion of gesso and linseed oil, also called 'half-chalk ground', is used In geology, the Italian 'gesso' corresponds to the English 'gypsum', as it is a calcium sulfate mineral (CaSO42H2O). Modern 'acrylic gesso' is a widely used ground that is a combination of calcium carbonate with an acrylic polymer medium latex, a pigment and other chemicals that ensure flexibility, and increase archival life. It is technically not gesso at all and its non-absorbent acrylic polymer base makes it incompatible with media that require traditional gesso such as egg tempera. It is sold premixed for both sizing and priming panels and flexible canvas for painting.

While it does contain calcium carbonate (CaCO3) to increase the absorbency of the primer coat, titanium dioxide or 'titanium white' is often added as the whitening agent. This allows gesso to remain flexible enough to use on canvas. Acrylic gesso can be colored, either commercially by replacing the titanium white with another pigment, such as carbon black, or by the artist directly, with the addition of an acrylic paint. Acrylic gesso can be odorous, due to the presence of ammonia and/or formaldehyde, which are added in small amounts as preservatives.

Art supply manufacturers market canvases pre-primed with gesso. Gesture/Gestural The concept of gesture in drawing or painting is two fold: it describes the visible characteristics of the action of a figure; and it embodies the intangible 'essence' of a figure or object. The action line of a figure is often a graphic undulating line, which follows the movement of the entire body of the figure being drawn or painted. The term gestural is an extension of this idea to describe a type of painting which is characterized by with a gestural quality, that is, flowing, curved, undulating lines or forms. Some great painters of Vermeer's time, including (1606 –1669), (1599–1660) and (c.

1582–1666) brought to a level of virtuosity which has, perhaps, never since been rivaled. Although each of these painters possessed a deeply personal manner of handling the paint brush, in their later years, their works remained solidly naturalistic. The brushwork of these artists seems to evoke in the observer's body the physical presence of the form and gesture of their paintings' subjects well as their optical appearance. '.our reception of these lines and brushstrokes.is influenced by the fact that the movements we observe are.

Echoed in our own bodies in the sense that we latently participate in these movements. ' 34 However, this kind of brushwork, whose movements seems to be almost unconsciously executed, was acquired through years of great self-discipline and intensive practice in the first part of their careers, years in which in which they had specialized in a conventional highly finished rendering of reality. In comparison to the three artists just mentioned, Vermeer cannot be said to have ever explored the venue of gesture brushwork, even in his earlier works where his brush work was at its loosest.

Although Vermeer's is far more evident than the brushwork of the with whom he shared many compositional, representational and thematic concerns, one never senses that the function of Vermeer's brushwork was intended to be in itself expressive. Rather than reflecting emotional states of the artist, Vermeer's brushwork aims at suggesting (rather than describing) visual and textural qualities of what is being represented. In his later years, he developed a curious calligraphic style which at times frees itself from a purely descriptive function. Vermeer's very lack of overt gestural expressiveness has been interpreted by, and others, as 'inversely expressive.'

'The lack of facility in dealing with human issues, which emerges side by side with, the elemental clarity of vision which is its counterpart, is the fundamental factor in the formation of his style. The lack itself is a common one. Vermeer' s distinction is that, with the passivity characteristic of his thought, he accepted this part of his nature as a basis of the expressive content of his style.

The instinctive seriousness of his assent to the requirements of his temperament is the sign of his genius. The lack of facility corresponds to a depth of feeling; his diffidence in dealing with the aspect of humanity is the measure of the meaning, which he attaches to it. The virtue in an artist is often like a bare nerve; sensitiveness may not only qualify but disable. In this Vermeer's development reveals, in microcosm, a situation in which more than one later painter has found himself.'

Gilt Leather ( Goudleer) Dutch interior paintings occasionally represent another type of wall covering called goudleer in Dutch, or gilt leather, which was an alternative to the expensive tapestries. Originating from North Africa goudleer was introduced to Spain as early as the ninth century and reached the Low Countries by fifteenth or sixteenth century. Though it was produced in several cities (Antwerp, Brussels and Ghent), the major center for gold leather was Mechelen, where it was mentioned as early as 1504.

In the Dutch Republic gold leather-making flourished in the seventeenth century in Amsterdam, The Hague and Middelburg. In Amsterdam, at least eleven gold leather-makers were active.

Panels of wet leather were first shaped over wooden molds and then painted, gilded and lacquered. Walls decorated with this luxurious panels create truly spectacular results, especially when they cover the whole walls, as can be seen in various interiors by (1629–1684) and other Dutch interior painters. They offered insulation from the humid walls and were seen as hygienic protection in eating rooms.

Tooled leather was alsmo popular for small items such as boxes and dress accessories, as well as for larger objects such as trunks. Gilt wall coverings must have been common in the homes of the rich.

Such all-covering gilt panels were particularly fashionable the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries in the Netherlands. Glaze/Glazing In the simplest terms, glazing consists of brushing a transparent layer of paint on top of a thoroughly dried layer of opaque paint. The two separate layers of paint are optically not physically mixed. The lower monochromatic layer essentially determines form and distribution of light while the upper layer, the glaze, determines in great part, if not exclusively, its color. The underpainting on which the glaze is applied is normally monochromatic but it may also contain some color.

For example, subtle greens may be achieved by glazing a transparent yellow over blue-based underpainting. The visual effect of glazing is roughly analogous to placing a sheet of colored acetate over a monochrome photograph.

Certain glazes can create to a striking 'shine through,' 'gem-like' or 'stained glass' effect that is not obtainable by direct application of opaque paints, no matter how bright the latter might be. Generally, glazing is most effective with inherently transparent pigments, commonly referred to as lakes. Although glazing was principally used to remedy the painful lack of strong colors, it was also used as a means to economize when working with expensive pigments like natural ultramarine. A blue drapery could be underpainted in cheap smalt and/or black and then glazed with the brilliant ultramarine blue. Glazing is one of the trickiest techniques to mange in oil painting.

Obviously, the specifics of the glazing technique are much harder to pin down. Moreover, like any other technique, different schools and different painters developed variations in regards to the types of underground, pigments and medium used to achieve specific optical effects and handling characteristics of the glaze paint. There are historical descriptions for some glazing recipes but there must have been many more that did not find their way into writing.

Glazing is not always easy to distinguish by direct observation, especially in painting executed more than 300 years ago which have been subject the effects of time, multiple restorations and in may cases, repainting. 'Glazing has had a long history and, before ( (before c. 1390 1441), was used mainly to substitute precious materials with paint. Medieval painters for instance, used glazes on metal foil or leaf to imitate the translucent splendor of gemstones, stained glass windows and enamel. Likewise, written sources provide ample evidence of the importance of glazing in relation to the art of making Ersatz.

They show for example, that oil was specially prepared to make it more translucent and glossy when ground with certain pigments. Varnishes made with drying oils also need to be studied as an important part of this history of imitation. Next to their protective function, they were employed to give the shine and brilliance of enamel and precious stones to objects made out of paint. When yellow colorants were added, varnishes could even be employed to imitate gold on silver leaf or tin foil. From the 1420s onwards, Jan van Eyck and his contemporaries no longer produced works characterized by Ersatz, but instead used glazes and opaque paint to represent, with meticulous skill,.'

35 According to Max Doerner, ( The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting, 1934) (1606 –1669) had extensively employed glazing. Doerner assumed that Rembrandt first painted a monochrome underpainting which served as a sort of 'pictorial skeleton' on which a number of transparent glazes were superimposed to determine the final effect of the painting. Doener's theory had been so popular as to give birth to a 'glazing myth' which has survived till today. Through modern scientific analysis, however, it has now been demonstrated that Rembrandt worked principally with opaque and semi-opaque layers of paint glazing only in relatively restricted areas according to general usage. Most probably tend to overstate Vermeer's use of glazing and do not distinguish between glazing used as a corrective measure—very light layer of paint meant to alter only slightly the underlying paint layer which for one reason or another had not come up to the painter's expectations—and true glazing which, instead, aims to create a very specific and otherwise unachievable pictorial effect. This difference might not seem a fundamental one but the idea that Vermeer built up his paintings in a series of successive glazes is incorrect.

An oil painting cannot be created by a series of successive glazes as if they were water color washes. The bulk of painting in the seventeenth century was executed with opaque and semi-opaque layers of pigment. An excellent, yet conventional, use of glazing may be observed in Vermeer'. The plumed hat was first modeled in opaque vermilion (a brilliant, opaque red with a strong orange overtone) and black. The shadowed areas of the hat were then deepened by a glaze of (a highly transparent ruby red derived from the madder plant) and a small amount of black after which a small amount of pure red madder was glazed over the illuminated areas giving the hat its exceptional light and its typically glowing red tone. Glossy Surfaces which are lustrous, shiny and very smooth. For example, enamel and encaustic paints, satin, polished metals, mirrors, and typical glass surfaces are glossy, whereas rougher textures, fabrics, etc., are more matte or dull.

Sometimes used to refer to superficiality. Glossy surfaces are particularly challenging to render with paint whether the glossy substance is (i.e., glass) or opaque (i.e., satin). Glossy metallic surfaces are not painted with metallic paint, but with regular paints and attentive observation of highlights, shadows, and reflections, thinking of them as distinct abstract shapes, each one with its proper tonal values, shapes and colors.As the old adage goes, the painter must 'paint what he sees, not what he thinks you sees.'

During the e of Dutch painters had reached an almost unsurpassed level of refinement. In the representation of glossy surfaces. Of all mediums, is by far the most adapted for painting glossy surfaces. Golden Age ( Gouden Eeuw) 'Golden Age' is a historical term given by the ancient Greeks (Greek: Χρυσόν Γένος Chryson Genos) and Romans.

After the Golden Age came the Silver Age when mankind fell into moral decay. The Silver Age was followed by the bronze Age when warfare dominated the whole world. The last age, the Iron Age, was an age of sin and hard labour. By extension 'Golden Age' denotes a period of primordial peace, harmony, stability, and prosperity. The term was later used to describe the flourishing of Spanish literature in the sixteenth and seventeenth century as well as of the Netherlands () which began in 1580 and ends in 1650, 1680 or 1710, according to different points of view.

Some historians spoke of the Golden Age, however, only in reference to the province of Holland. The Dutch cultural historian, Johan Huizinga reserved the term for the eighteenth century when the Dutch upper-class lived on the gold they had inherited from their ancestors. In general, the term referred to a period of unprecedented wealth, political and economic power and exceptional cultural growth.

It is believed that the migration of skilled craftsmen and rich merchants from Bruges, Ghent, and Antwerp to the North stimulated the initial growth of the Netherlands, followed by a significant influxes of non-native refugees who had previously fled from religious persecution, particularly Sephardi Jews from Portugal and Spain, and later Huguenots from France. Cheap energy sources, from windmills and from peat, easily transported by canal to the cities, also contributed to the growth of trade, industry, the arts and the sciences during this period. The invention of the sawmill enabled the construction of a massive fleet of ships for worldwide trading and for military defense of the republic's economic interests. Although the contemporaries were well aware of a period of bloom, the term Golden Age was first used when Bakhuizen van den Brink, a literary critic, philosopher and historian, gave a lecture about a historical phenomena in 1823. By the 1990s, the term had lost the term had lost much of its original meaning and discarded by many historians.

Today the term is liberally bestowed when any period in question has ended and is compared with what followed in the specific field discussed, including the 'Golden age of Alpinism,' 'Golden Age of American Animation,' 'Golden Age of Comics,' 'Golden Age of Science Fiction,' 'Golden Age of Hollywood,' 'Golden Age of Hip Hop' and even 'Golden Age of Piracy' or 'Golden Age of Pornography.' A Cavalier at His Dressing Table Adriaen van de Venne 1631 Oil on panel, 40 x 33 cm. Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo Collection A grisaille (Fr. Gray) is a painting which has been executed in monochrome (i.e. One color) or in a very limited range of color, but in which the forms are defined by variations of tone. Grisaille painting was particularly popular for the outsides of the shutters of polyptychs in Northern Europe in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It was also chosen quite deliberately chosen for aesthetic reasons, in order to create a specific visual effect.

Traditionally, when part of a large decorative scheme in or, or if incorporated into an altarpiece, a grisaille composition was often modeled to resemble sculpture, either relief or statuary. A grisaille may be executed for its own sake, as underpainting for an oil painting (in preparation for glazing layers of colour over it), or as a model for an engraver to work from. ' (1577–1640) and his school sometimes use monochrome techniques in sketching compositions for engravers. Full coloring of a subject makes many more demands of an artist, and working in grisaille was often chosen as being quicker and cheaper, although the effect was sometimes deliberately chosen for aesthetic reasons.

Grisaille paintings resemble the drawings, normally in monochrome, that artists from the on were trained to produce; like drawings they can also betray the hand of a less talented assistant more easily than a fully colored painting. From 1620 until his death, the Dutch painter (1589–1662) made numerous grisailles and engravings of genre subjects, featuring peasants, beggars, thieves and fools as illustrations of current proverbs and sayings, mostly by Jacob Cats. These works were frequently accompanied by painted motto that provides a humorous or ironic commentary on the scene. Van de Venne was famous during his lifetime, and remained popular throughout the eighteenth century after his death. Ground Ground is a coating material applied to a support, such as canvas or panel, to make it ready for painting. Grounding, or priming as it is also called today, must produce a smooth surface that can be easily painted upon.

It must be hard but not brittle (which causes cracking) and it must be porous enough to allow the oil paint to adhere permanently but not too absorbent as to suck out the oil from the layers of oil paint and cause it to detach. If oil paint is applied directly to canvas with no ground, paint soaks into and spreads on the support. Furthermore, the fabrics of the support is eroded by the acid of oil.

Painters generally first sealed the canvas before grounding with a layer of animal skin glue or casein called 'size.' Dutch painters generally used the double ground, a ground prepared with two different layers material. Double grounds spread from the northern Netherlands and Flanders to France, England and Scandinavia. In the Netherlands they were more frequent in Utrecht and Amsterdam than in Haarlem, where they never caught on, and light or whitish grounds remained popular much longer. The pigmentation of lower grounds varied, even within the oeuvre of a single painter. Double grounds in the northern Netherlands often consisted of chalk or ochre (red or yellow) which were subsequently covered with a thin coat of light gray producing the so-called Raleigh scattering effect.

Artists sometimes scraped up the residue paint that deposited at the bottom of the receptacle which held turpentine for cleaning brushes to use as a cheap alternative to more costly pigments. Most traditional grounds were colored. Painters were aware that the tone of the ground strongly influences the perception of the tone and hue of the pigments which were applied over it. Thus, the final overall tone of the picture was effected, especially in the shadows where thin layers of transparent paint were generally used.

Dark toned canvases greatly aid the rendering of the depiction of shadows but require repeated layers of light-colored paint to represent the illuminated areas, which unfortunately may alter in time due to the fact that the transparency of some paints, including white-lead which was often used in light passages, augments in time. The landscape painter (1776–1837) favored beige or mid-brown grounds. In, he left the reddish-brown ground uncovered in places such as the banks of the river. A colored ground gives an overall warmer and darker effect than a white ground. In the first half of the nineteenth century, is was noticed in artists' manuals that artists were increasingly using lighter grounds. The Pre-Raphaelites were amongst the artists opting for white-primed canvas and if they reworked a section of a composition they would simply lay over the unsatisfactory passage more white as a local ground.

Many Impressionist paintings were done on white grounds in order to maximize color intensity. Today, most artists employ commercially prepared acrylic gesso works as both a size and a ground whether they will paint with oil or acrylic paint. Acrylic gesso fills in holes of the canvas and creates a strong, flexible barrier between the paint and the canvas. Because acrylics do not affect the integrity of the raw canvas or board, some acrylic painters even eliminate the use of an acrylic gesso ground. However, most acrylic paintings are done on acrylic gesso grounds.

Vermeer generally used light colored grounds composed of chalk (a filler), linseed oil, white-lead and various combinations of pigments. For example, the ground of the contains chalk, white-lead, black and an earth pigment, most likely brown umber. The ground mixture was applied with a palette knife in one or two layers. The grounded canvas had a warm buff tone that can be seen in various areas of the painting where little or no paint was applied. Although it would seem that Vermeer prepared his canvas in the conventional manner in his studio, it has been recently advanced that he may have purchased commercially prepared canvases. Guild/Guild of Saint Luke Guilds were associations of people engaged in the same trade or business.

In Italy they were known as Arti, and it was necessary to belong to one to obtain work in any town. The guilds had their own chapels and in their devotional activities they often resembled confraternities. The guilds of painters was called the Guild of Saint Luke, named after the patron saint of painters. Guilds remained active in some parts of Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but their importance diminished in direct relationship to the rise in importance of other professional associations, such as the Pictura in the Hague in the seventeenth century and, above all, the Academies. The primary aims of the guilds were to regulates the commerce and training of painters and artisans and to provide for their welfare in later part of their lives.

As every other Dutch painter, Vermeer was required to undergo a four or six year apprenticeship with a master painter who belonged to the. In these years, the young apprentice was thoroughly instructed in the art and craft of painting with little or no book learning, and upon his admission to the guild, was permitted to sign and sell his own paintings as well as those of his fellow painters. Recently, some scholars have come to believe Vermeer left in order to study either in Amsterdam or Utrecht. Vermeer was required to pay an entrance fee of six guilders when he was admitted to the Guild of Saint Luke in 1653 (December). Normally, new admittees into the guild whose father had been members, as was the case with Vermeer, were required to pay three, provided that they had trained for two years with a master of the guild.

According to Van de Veen (1996) the only plausible explanation for the higher admission fee is that Vermeer's training had occurred outside of. Money appears two times, once a gold coin which is being flipped into the open palm of a young prostitute by a swashbuckling cavalier in the early and the second tim in the measured. Using the five coins on the table of Vermeer's as a starting point, the historian Timothy Brook 39 opened a window out of Vermeer's painting onto the globalization of the world. Brook has conjectured that the large silver coin near the four stacked gold coins is a ducat and not a guilder. There were various types of silver coins in circulation but the most common was the ducat. In Europe, two silver ducats were worth one gold ducat.

Half-tone Most simply understood, the halftones are part of the illuminated side of an object neither in the or in the. They are lit side of the shadow edge but only receiving light rather than directly. Painters always understand half-tones as lighter than anything in the shadow. The correct depiction of half-tone create a natural sensation of lightfall and. Half-tones in the are particularly demanding.

Government Laptop Emc Utl Laptop Graphics Software. Some painters are of the belief that half-tones are a rule cool, the warmer colors are in the shadows and in a lesser degree in the lights. However,, when a form with a single, are so relative that this scheme is generally of little use in actual studio practice. 'The illusion of form is the domain of halftones. The shadows can be simplified and unified, as to some degree the, but the half-tones must be gradated in order for the image to be read as a turning form.

Unless something is flat, like a piece of paper, there will be some changes in value to indicate its girth. Generally, the smaller the range of half-tones there is in an object the quicker the turn can be described.' Hand Grinding Paint The necessary knowledge to make paint was acquired through the apprentice/master relationship. Marvel Rom Gba Download Pokemon Ruby more.

Grinding paint was one of the apprentice’s principal daily chores, and it allowed the master time to devote himself to the creative aspects of painting. In the studio, the raw materials had to be cleansed and properly prepared for making paint. Although the principle of hand grinding paint is fairly simple, the actual practice presents subtleties which can be only mastered through hands-on experience. From: Tony Johansen.

'Grinding Paints.' Website: To grind pigments some of them must be 'predispersed' into a solvent or an oil. Since oil has a natural affinity with many pigments, oil alone is usually enough. A small amount of turpentine can be used to wet those pigment which are ‘less cooperative.’ Water was commonly used to predisperse pigment in earlier centuries and it is sometimes believed that it improves the color and handling qualities as well, but it can also lead to problems if over used.

To commence grinding, first, enough oil, but no more, should be added to the pigment with a spatula to create a stiff crumbly paste. If the pigment requires no predispersal it can be piled up in the center of the grinding stone. A small quantity of oil is poured into a 'well' made in the center of the pile.

The oil and pigments should be mixed with a spatula alone, adding only a little oil at a time. Some pigments absorb more oil than others so only experience can show exactly how much oil is needed, generally much less than it would initially seem. This mixture is then ground with a muller. The muller is held with both hands and moved in a circular motion gradually spreading the paint across the entire surface of the slab or at least until it creates a thin layer.

The action of mulling aims at coating every particle of pigment as thoroughly as possible but using the least possible amount of oil. The muller must be periodically lifted up to scrape off the excess paint which gathers at its edge. The mulled paint is then scraped into the center to form a stiff mass that should hold its shape, and not flow or collapse. Experience will tell how many times mulling must be repeated, or if additional pigment or oil is needed.

Hatching & Crosshatching from Wikipedia: Hatching (Fr. Hachure) is an artistic technique used to create tonal or shading effects by drawing (or painting or scribing) closely spaced parallel lines. (It is also used in monochromatic heraldic representations to indicate what the tincture of a 'full-colour' emblazon would be.) When lines are placed at an angle to one another, it is called cross-hatching. Hatching is especially important in essentially linear media, such as drawing, and many forms of printmaking, such as engraving, etching and woodcut. In Western art, hatching originated in the, and developed further into cross-hatching, especially in the old master prints of the fifteenth century.

Master ES and Martin Schongauer in engraving and Erhard Reuwich and Michael Wolgemut in woodcut were pioneers of both techniques, and (1471–1528) in particular perfected the technique of crosshatching in both media. Portrait of Cornelis van der Geest (detail) Anthony van Dyck about 1620 Oil on oak, 37.5 x 32.5 cm. National Gallery, London A highlight is the bright spot of light that appears on shiny objects when light shines on them. Highlights were as important for painters of the seventeenth century as they are in 3-D computer graphics, as they provide a strong visual cue for the of an object and its location with respect to light sources in the scene. The correct understanding of the nature of natural highlights and the techniques for representing them is of utmost importance to the painter. If a highlight is not painted properly, the observer will be unable to apprehend the material and/or texture of the underlying object and the direction and intensity of light.

Many painters can be identified by their handling of highlights alone. Highlights inform if the direction the is coming in from and how shiny or dull the surface of the object is. A shiny surface is represented by specular highlights that are very light in comparison to the neighboring values and have sharp, well-defined edges like metal or catchlights in the eyes. A dull object, like cotton fabric, will be represented by highlights that are just a bit lighter in value and it's hard to tell exactly where they blend into the next value of light.

Although highlights can be applied, the strongest strong highlights are best superimposed over dry paint. Particularly suggestive are strong highlights laid in with heavy and a quick touch. This technique makes the painted highlight 'stand up' in relief above the underlying object and seems even brighter than the tone of the highlight itself since it cast a small shadow to one of its sides. This manner of painting highlights is usually employed to render the of eyes (see detail image left), the highlights of shiny metal and jewels. Dutch painters had become particularly adept in painting of highlights and had largely codified the color, value and touch for the highlights of every conceivable man-made and natural objects. A faint touch of added to lends satin or birds' feathers as gossamer softness while a bit of was added to the highlights of deep green foliage. History Painting (Italian: Istoria or Historia) A history painting is one which has a serious, or includes exemplars of actions which are intended to have didactic overtones.

In this sense the word 'history' relates to the Italian istoria, meaning narrative or story (and not the accurate or documentary description of actual events). History paintings are often large in scale. Their subjects can be taken from the Bible, from mythology or other forms of secular literature, from historical events; or they can be. Noble themes are seen as being particularly worthy of depiction. History painting was viewed as the most important of the genres from about the sixteenth century, and the climax of an academic painter's training. It was the equivalent of Epic or Tragedy in literature.

'In the Netherlands, history painting, which was once the pinnacle of pictorial art, gradually became a minority art. Most young painters opted for the specialist career in one of the categories of painting that were menaced by realism. This was also, of course, a result of the economic situation within which they had to find a living as professional painters.' 41 Although history painting had once been the dominant mode in all of Europe, in the Netherlands it was largely replaced, at least numerically, by, and painting.

Nonetheless, art writers and ambitious painters continued to advocate the classicist principles, which were at the foundation of history painting, throughout the seventeenth century until it asserted itself once again as a driving cultural force in the visual arts in the latter decades. Classicist theory, however, was not dogmatically adhered to in the Netherlands even by those who promoted it most strenuously.

(1548–1606) and later (1641–1711) wrote about history painting extensively. Van Mander, who had exhorted painters to depict 'memorable histories,' painted some peasant scenes. (1627–1678), another Dutch theorist and painter, painted genre and works, the latter of which has more to do with pictorial trickery than the search for uplifting content, even though he was awarded a medal by the Holy Roman Emperor for his efforts. (16, who was sometimes referred to as one of the Haarlem Classicists or Haarlem Academics, repeatedly depicted courtesans playing musical instruments or combing their hair. De Lairesse, who opposed joint artistic efforts because it demeaned the role of the painter to the status of a mere specialist, is know to have employed to fill in landscape background in some of his works. Moreover, de Lairesse, like many Dutch painters, was unable to repress his Dutch colleagues' quintessential fascination for the depictions of specific, especially fine, practically a hallmark of Dutch painting. Whether Vermeer's initial impulse to be a history painter was stimulated by his artistic training, his, or the hope of realizing prestigious princely or civic commissions in the nearby Hague, he abruptly altered his and style of painting a few years after being admitted to the guild.

In any case, Vermeer was perhaps the only genre painter who was able to confer the moral seriousness and dignity associated with history painting to his representations of modern life. Other than the and, Vermeer is known to have painted a third history painting, the and a Visit to the Tomb. The art historian Arthur K. Has attributed to Vermeer a youthful copy of a originally painted by the Italian painter Felice Ficherelli (1605–1660).This attribution has not been accepted by many in the Dutch art history community. Houding 'Dutch artists and theorists often used the term houding to encompass the many pictorial tactics that might make a compelling mimetic painting. Vermeer's combination of spatial coherence, pleasing but unobtrusive surface design, and harmonious coloring that went into the production of a lifelike pictorial world amounted to good houding.'

42 Although the term has bread some confusion among modern scholars, the art historian describes houding as ' a means of creating a sense of space in a picture. The artist must be careful not to allow the elements in a painting to be-come 'packed together'; depth should be expressed lucidly and spatial relations should be clearly legible.

If the artist succeeds in 'placing each thing, without con-fusion, separate and well apart from the objects which are next to and around it', then an illusionistic space will be opened up in which the eye can roam: 'as if [each object] were accessible with one's feet'. Viewers are given the sense that they can stroll through a picture, walk round the table in some dining-room or saunter off down a riverside path.' Hue Hue is the first dimension of. It is the quality by which we can distinguish one color from another. Hue is synonymous with color. The three primary colors (red, yellow and blue) are hues.

Black and white are not hues. Primary colors cannot be related to one another on the basis of a common denominator, for this, they are perceived as absolute values. Theoretically, all hues can be mixed from red, yellow and blue.

Some nineteenth-century English watercolorists painted with only these three colors and were able to achieve naturalistic effects. However, even though primary colors in oil paints can be mixed to produce secondary colors, they usually generate hues of inferior brilliance, and it is impossible to recreate some of the most useful colors on the artist's palette, such raw umber or burnt sienna. Other than their particular hues, traditional pigments possess physical characteristics which make them extremely desirable for a variety of reasons. The extraordinary depth of common black pigments cannot be approximated by any mixture of primary or secondary colors. 'Some say that the primary colors, seen individually or together, are less expressive than the secondary colors. There may be some element of truth in this, but the whole truth concerning color is never easy to pin down. There are some persons who profess a strong dislike for contrast of primaries and other bright hues.

Perhaps the blatant use of colors in the omnipresent signs and advertisements has prejudiced them against straightforward, undiminished hues.' 44 In Vermeer's time, these exceptionally strong hues were part of the painter's 'magic.' The secondary hues are green (blue plus yellow), orange (red plus yellow) and violet (red plus blue).Vermeer based most of his color harmonies on the primary and neutral colors. Except in his very early works, oranges and purples are not found.

While significant areas of green are more common they generally play a supportive role to the dominant color harmony. Secondary colors derive their character from the fact that they are intuitively perceived as hybrid. They possess a vibrating duality which primary colors do not. Any reader who is fairly familiar with modern Vermeer literature has certainly noticed the abundance of iconographic studies of Vermeer's painting. The topic was initially touched on by P.T.A. Swillens (1950) and Lawrence Gowing (1952) in their respective monographs dedicated to the master.

From the early sixties, onwards, Vermeer's painting were believed to have allusive, or character. 'In particular Eddy de Jongh—although not the first to do so—believed that many Dutch paintings, including Vermeer's, should be interpreted in the light of 'prints in contemporary emblem books that are accompanied by mottoes and verses that together produce a didactic, ethical or proverbial conceit.' 45 De Jongh ('On Balance,' in, 1998) has recently pointed out that 'even though there exists a remarkable agreement about Vermeer's artistic stature, modern scholars have still have not reached a common stand as to the meaning that Vermeer may have invested in his painting. A methodological battle on the question of form and content in seventeenth-century Dutch art and has been waged for more than a decade, with a partial return to the idea of art for art's sake. Most Vermeer scholars, though, take a different view.

They usually do not doubt Vermeer's intention of investing his work with meaning. The question is merely what was that meaning and, above all, whether it can still be deciphered.'

In any case, in order to arrive at a full understanding of a painting's iconographical content, it is best to take into account not only of the supposed iconographical significance but also the general mood of the work which at times may seem contradictory to the initial iconographic reading. Iconologia The Iconologia of was conceived as a guide to the symbolism in. It was very influential in the seventeenth century and went through numerous editions. There were 9 Italian edition, 1593, 1603, 1611, 1613, 1618, 1625, 1630, 1645, 1764-7 and 8 non Italian editions in other languages, 1644 French, 1644 Dutch, 1699 Dutch, 1704 German, 1709 English, 1760 German, 1766 French and 1779 English. Both the text and the emblems included in these editions varies greatly, and later editions use Ripa's idea, rather than following his text.

Although it does not contain alchemical material as such, it does provide keys to the allegorical symbolism used in the hermetic tradition. The Iconologia was extremely influential in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and was quoted extensively in various art forms. In particular, it influenced the painter (1596/7–1669) and his followers. Also Dutch painters like (1641–1711), (1662–1747) based work on Ripa's emblems. Vermeer used the emblem for the muse for his, and several others in his. A large part of Vondel's work cannot be understood without this allegorical source, and ornamentation of the Amsterdam townhall by (1609–1668), a sculptor, is totally dependent on Ripa.

An English translation appeared in 1709 by Pierce Tempest. Illusionism The principal characteristic of an artwork which attempts to convince viewers that they are not looking at a representation but at the thing itself. In other words, illusionism means making an image as 'realistic,' in the conventional sense of the word, as possible.

Especially when accompanied by the word 'optical,' 'illusion' is often used to indicate an image which we recognize as playing a deliberate trick on us, like alternating figures. This is precisely not what is meant by 'illusionism,' which refers instead to coherent images which pass for the real. Impasto Paint applied in outstanding heavy layers or strokes; also, any thickness or roughness of paint or deep, as distinguished from a flat, smooth surface which enhances the effect of texture or of illumination. Some Dutch were so taken to the representation of texture that they pressed a piece of clothe to the almost dry area of paint which represented some kind of course fabric in order to mimic it. (1606 –1669), in particular, is noted for his use of impasto. A of the time once remarked that his were painted wth such high paint relief that 'they could be picked up by their nose.'

Vermeer used impasto above all in his early works. For example, in, the carpet in the foreground has been reinforced with rough impasto application of paint. He took great care to re-create the interwoven of the fabric and one can almost feel the material presence of the 's knotty texture.

Vermeer, like many painters of the time, used impasto for another reason; that of enhancing the effect of light. The most strongly light areas of his compositions are often painted with heavy impasto and so become, literally, the most eye catching areas. Vermeer's contemporary (1627–1678), artist and art theoretician, was aware of another important characteristic of textured paint. 'I maintain that perceptibility alone makes objects appear closer at hand, and conversely that smoothness makes the withdraw, and I therefore desire that which is to appear in the foreground, be painted roughly and briskly.' By contrast, shadowed areas were usually more vaguely defined with thin transparent or semi-transparent layers of paint. Some areas of impasto in Vermeer's works have lost their original relief owing to restorations in which hot irons were employed in the process of relining the original unstable or worn canvas. Imprimitura Imprimatura is a term used in painting, meaning an initial stain of color painted on a.

It provides a painter with a transparent, toned ground, which will allow light falling onto the painting to reflect through the paint layers. The term itself stems from the Italian and literally means 'first paint layer.' Its use as an layer can be dated back to the guilds and workshops during the; however, it comes into standard use by painters during the, particularly in Italy. The imprimatura provides not only an overall tonal optical unity in a painting but is also useful in the initial stages of the work, since it helps the painter establish It is most useful in the classical approach of indirect painting, where the drawing and underpainting are established ahead of time anad allowed to dry. The successive layers of color are then applied in transparent or semi-transparent layers.

Care is taken not to cover the imprimatura completely allowing it to show through the final paint layers, this is effective in particular in the middle to dark shadowed areas of the work. An imprimatura can be generic, not specific to the subject being painted on top of it, or it can be specifically adapted to the being painted. The painter should be conscious of how the imprimatura is going to affect later stages in the painting. If an imprimatura is too dark and gray, it will drag down the luminosity of the colors laid on top of it. On the other hand, if it is too light, it will make the depiction of shadows more time consuming. Influence Influence is the capacity or power of persons or things to be a compelling force on or produce effects on the actions, behavior, opinions, etc., of others. The Shorter Oxford Dictionary states that the term 'influence' was originally an astrological term, used to signify an emanation from the stars (into a person or thing) of any kind of divine or secret power or principle.

In a sizable part, modern art history is dominated by the study of influences; how artists may be influenced by myriad environmental factors and, in particular, by the works of other artists. However, the task of tracing influence in the arts is not an easy one. Painters may be influenced by styles of painting (past and present) and other arts (past and present), art theory, popular imagery, social conditions or events, religion, state, philosophy, scientific discovery, the requests of and market pressure. Strictly speaking, he may also be influenced by his own social origin, personal relationships, gender and mental conditions such as conscious beliefs, unconscious psychological impulses, greed, desire for fame, love or art or even divine inspiration. Since they enable and dictate, both the costs and the inherent properties of the materials which the painter employs also influence the results of his production. Even climatic conditions may have had an influence on the painter's ability to realize his goals.

For example, the significant number of heavily overcast days in the Netherlands, when light is dim even at midday, may have explain why Dutch painters, in respects to painters of other schools of art, were so sensitive to the activities of light. As time passes, more art is produced exposing painters to an ever increasing amount of possible influences.

When attempting to understand the work of painters, or of painters, may contemporarily investigate a variety of influences which he or she might hold particularly relevant to that painter's production although he or she may also choose to investigate a single form of influence in isolation from all the rest. For example, Jeongmu Yang, 47 investigated the painting of Venetian painter (c. 1430–1516) in the light of the rise of oil painting and the availability and costs of pigments.

John Michael Montias, the American economist turned, investigated the influence of economics on the style of seventeenth-century Dutch painters through 'collected evidence on the economic status of the artistsin the Golden Age: the taxes they remitted; the prices they paid for their houses; the gifts their family made to charity after their death.' Developed in the late 1960s by Dutch physicist J. Van Asperen De Boer, infrared reflectography (IRR) is a non-destructive imaging technique that is used to study the presence of specific which may lie beneath visible paint layers. IRR can provide important information for since changes in composition can be detected during the different phases of a painting's execution.

IRR can also detect paint losses and retouchings, sometimes invisible to the naked eye. Infrared radiation allows us to 'see through' paint layers that are impenetrable to the human eye since it passes through paint until it reaches something that absorbs it, or it is reflected back to the camera. Infrared light has too long a wavelength to see, but it can however be photographed. IRR can penetrate through most thinly painted oil paints, except carbon black which was often a component of artist's materials such as graphite, charcoal and ink, during the early stages of the painting process and as an additive to darken other pigments.

The resulting image, known as an infrared reflectogram, is converted digitally by software, producing a black and white image on the computer monitor. Since IRR detects black materials it is a perfect complement to X-radiography, which typically registers lighter materials, principally ubiquitously employed by seventeenth-century European painters.

Art historians nowadays use this method widely, indeed it turns out to be mandatory to obtain precious information on the author's technique and the graphical means used to draw. Other important data can be found using this technique, among these are: writings, signatures and, originally under the paint layer, or covered by restorations done before the reflectography.

In other cases the analysis of the reflectogram reveals significant variations in the of the artwork with respect to its final version, or of the author, and even of objects without any relation to the painting as it is seen today. Reflectography is often used also by restorers.

In many cases it eases the analysis of the creative genesis of the artwork and reveals previous restoration actions. IR reflectography is performed by using various devices. A main drawback of IRR is the time consumption necessary for manually mounting many mosaic pictures, using dedicated software. This is particularly true for paintings of great dimension, where scaffolding has to be constructed for the investigation in situ, because the camera has to be positioned relatively close to the artwork. Many alterations that Vermeer made in the course of the painting process painting have come to light with the aid of infrared reflectography.

It has been discovered that Vermeer altered his compositions in order to achieve greater and at the same time defined theme more precisely. One of the most striking examples revealed by infrared reflectography can be found in the. The composite Infrared reflectography image (see image above) show that a map similar to the one which hangs in was initially hung directly behind the standing girl. Some kind on musical instrument, most likely a, was placed on the foreground chair and the dark blue clothe which hangs from the table once revealed more of the floor tiles underneath the. Interior Painting 'Between approximately 1650 and 1675 some of the most beautiful scenes of domestic interiors ever painter were produced in the Netherlands. The real capital of this genre was Delft, where Pieter de Hooch and Vermeer represented spaces with startling illusionism and remarkable geometric perfection.

These painters translated the genre scenes created by earlier artists into domestic interiors inspired by their own homes, imbuing then with an unprecedented freshness and evocative quality.' 49 'There is a substantial difference between the interiors painted after around 1650 and those of the first half of the century in their treatment of subject matter and pictorial space. The subjects depicted ( domestic scenes, amorous subjects and gathering of festive and other types) are no longer defined through their association with religious senses, series of the Four Seasons or the Five Senses, or illustrations of proverbs, but rather have acquired their own identity as a genre. The paintings inevitably continues to act as vehicles for different contents, but these are often these are less specific and present themselves in an ambiguous fashion and less overtly that in earlier works.

Because the splendid marble floors can been seen in most genre pictures from the middle and the third quarter of the seventeenth-century, we have been led to believe that they were present in nearly all well-to-do interiors. However, it seems doubtful that genre painters, Vermeer included, could have directly observed and painted this type of marble tile in his own studio. Willemijn Fock, a historian of the decorative arts, has demonstrated that floors paved with marble tiles were extremely rare in the Dutch seventeenth-century houses and that only in the homes of the very wealthy where floors of this type were sometimes found, they were usually confined to smaller spaces such as voorhuis, corridors and upper story sleeping or storage rooms. Fock reasons that the numerous representations of these floors in Dutch genre painting may be explained by the fact that 'artists were attracted by the challenge involved in representing the difficult perspective of receding multicolored marble tiling.' At the time, wooden floors were almost ubiquitous being eminently practical for the long gelid Dutch winters.

These floors were so practical that they were found in houses of the very wealthy and can be observed in the paintings. An excellent example os such flooring is found in a portrait of (1596–1687) in which expensive globes and scientific instruments.

Another such wooden floor is featured in Gerrit Borch in the Rijksmuseum. Although other Dutch genre painters had also depicted the black and white marble floors or the smaller warm toned ceramic tiles of his earlier works, Vermeer may have painted these wooden floors in, and. However, they are not rendered with the same degree of accuracy as in 's (1617–1681) work. Italianists Throughout Europe, Italy was the art center of the world during the sixteenth century. From the sixteenth century onwards, Dutch artists traveled to Italy regularly to study the works of art from classical antiquity and the. Once in Italy, the artists were inspired by the landscape and the Mediterranean light.

The works produced by these artists were exceptionally popular in the Netherlands. Known as 'Italianists,' they had a major influence on the artists who remained in the Netherlands, such as (1620–1683) and 1620–1691), who also took to painting Italian landscapes, even though they themselves had never been to Italy. From approximately 1640 onwards various Dutch artists focused specifically on painting sunny southern landscapes. Chief among the Italianists were (1598–after 1657), (1612/1613–1642) and (1610–1652), (1620–1683), and (c.1610–1652). The Both brothers, of Utrecht, were to some degree rivals of the Haarlem-born Berchem. Andries painted the figures that populated Jan's landscapes.

Berchem's own compositions were largely derived from the Arcadian landscapes of the French painter (1600-1682); a typical scene would contain shepherds grazing their flocks among Classical ruins, bathed in a golden haze. Upon his return to the Netherlands, Berchem occasionally worked in cooperation with the local painters and is said to have supplied figures in works of both ( c. 1629–1682 and (1638–1709). Invention (Italian: invenzione) Invention is an art historical term for the development of a composition or, in the case of a, a narrative concept in the broadest sense—the formulation of the artist's creative idea—in the mind of the painter.

Invention ( invenzione), which presumably issues from the mind was considered inherently superior to imitation ( imitazione) which instead, issues from the senses. Painters produced sketches, studies, and to aid the execution of finished pictures, especially frescoes.

In addition to their practical functions, during the, drawings were increasingly viewed as a manifestation of the artistic process of invention. Drawings became valued for showing the inner workings of a great artist's mind and were collected and preserved by early.