Unveiling the Secrets of Vermeer’s Masterpiece
Exploring the mystery, muse, and meaning behind Vermeer’s iconic Girl with a Pearl Earring painting.
Johannes Vermeer was born in 1632 in Delft, Netherlands, during the Dutch Golden Age. He was the son of a silk weaver and art dealer. He lived a middle-class life.
Little is known about how Vermeer began painting. He had no formal training and did not apprentice anywhere. Some experts believe he traveled to Italy and France to study, but nothing is recorded.
He merely tried and succeeded in painting, registering in the Guild of Saint Luke. Experts suggest he used mirror techniques to create a lit subject with bright light techniques. None of his technique was discovered until long after his death.
Even in his mid-twenties he took over Reijnier’s family art business. Oddly enough Vermeer’s middle name is Reijniersz and it’s curious that he took on that name.
Vermeer’s Life:
Vermeer married Catharina Bolnes in 1653, a Catholic woman from a well-off family (her family was not thrilled that Vermeer had a poor family, debts and was not Catholic but he did convert). But they went on to have 15 children (11 survived) and live a somewhat happy life. He liked domestic scenes with bright light and vibrant color.
My theory: Vermeer might have continued his artwork despite his family’s debts and his own debts because he married into a wealthy family with a wife who had a grand dowry to fund him.
Famous works include:
- Girl with a Pearl Earring
- The Milkmaid
- Woman Holding a Balance
- View of Delft
Vermeer used camera obscura techniques and layered glazes to achieve photographic realism and glowing light effects. He produced only about 34 known paintings (though probably made more like 60+), likely due to his slow, detailed technique and financial difficulties. He lived during a war, so he worked with the resources he had at the time.
Random Facts:
- Used lapis lazuli pigment (a brilliant blue color for paint that was rare) One piece of pigment cost equivalent to $3,000+ our money modern day.
- He died at age 43 of depression after the French War caused the painting market to crash and he went broke (no one could afford the paintings he commissioned nor sold). One day he just “collapsed” and died without reason. Some conjecture that he had an aneurism or stroke.
- He lived in the Dutch Golden Age with science, art and more exploration.
The Lesson:
After testing out this lesson, I suggest that instead of using the template and drawing the portrait 9 times, simply follow the template on one large box to draw the portrait – similar to the Hopper Lighthouse lesson.
We each tried a different process, but the middle son, age 10, did one drawing total and we all agreed it came out much better.
Materials:
- Paper
- Girl with the Pearl Earring Template
- Pencil
- Colored pencils
Steps:
- On a sheet of paper, follow the step by step process of the template.
- For younger or beginner students, use a ruler to create a square box within the 8 1/2 x 11 paper to be a 6×6 square or smaller and sketch light center lines within like this
- After sketching it, color in with colored pencils.
- Emphasis on the blue headdress and shiny pearl.
The Master of Light: Vermeer’s Legacy
Vermeer never did become famous or financially stable as an artist throughout his lifetime. He relied heavily on the patronage of a local art collector, Pieter van Ruijven and was not very popular. Following the economic collapse after the Franco-Dutch War and van Ruijven’s death, Vermeer fell into debt.
After Vermeer died, his wife begged a high official to forgive the debts, and they did. Who knows why or how she did this but she was a wealthy woman in society and had a high-class family so she may have had the popularity and clout in society to make it happen. Vermeer however, died penniless and unpopular.
Vermeer was all but forgotten until the early 19th century when his paintings reemerged and became famous. Today, he is celebrated as one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age and is often referred to as the “Master of Light.”
Resources:
Magellan TV Season 1 Episode 4
30 minute video that shows the culture and history of Vermeer’s life. Appropriate for most ages. Shows many of his paintings and focuses primarily on art and music.
