Details of Vermeer's Painting Technique

The richness of Vermeer's artistic evolution was accompanied by an equally rich evolution in painting technique. A single detail of each Vermeer painting is examined from a technical point of view and related to the artist's expressive intent.

By clicking on the description of detail, a technical explanation together with a high quality color image can be viewed.

Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, Johannes Vermeer
extensive use of impasto in Vermeer's early painting to achieve unique pictorial effects
← A GIRL READING A LETTER BY
AN OPEN WINDOW
c. 1657-1659
oil on canvas
32 1/4 x 25 3/8 in. (83 x 64.5 cm.)
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Gemäldegalerie
Dresden
Young Woman Holding a Water Pitcher, Johannes Vermeer
Vermeer's use of the costly pigment lapis lazuli instead of the much cheaper azurite was exceptional
← YOUNG WOMAN WITH A WATER PITCHER
c. 1653-1656
oil on canvas
38 1/4 x 41 3/8 in. (98.5 x 105 cm.)
Mauritshuis, The Hague
detail of The Art of Painting, Johannes Vermeer
glazing was used to create colors and pictorial effects which cannot be obtained by direct mixture of paint
← THE ART OF PAINTING
c. 1662- 1668
oil on canvas
47 1/4 x 39 3/8 in. (120 X 100 cm.)
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
Girl with a Red Hat, Johannes Vermeer
Vermeer even used the tip of the brush's handle in his painting
← GIRL WITH A RED HAT
c. 1665-1666
oil on panel
9 x 7 1/16 in. (22.8 x 18 cm.)
The National Gallery of Art
Washington D.C.
The Lacemaker, Johannes vermeer
Vermeer's use of the the camera obscura
← THE LACEMAKER
c. 1669-1671
oil on canvas
9 5/8 x 8 1/4 in. (24.5 x 21 cm.)
The Louvre, Paris
The Guitar Player, Johannes Vermeer
in some of his later paintings Vermeer used green earth in the shadows of the flesh tones
← THE GUITAR PLAYER
c. 1669-1672
oil on canvas
20 1/4 x 18 1/4 in. (53 x 46.3 cm.)
Kenwood,
English Heritage as Trustees
of the Iveagh Bequest
Woman Writing a Letter with her mAID, jOHANNES vERMEER
in Vermeer's late paintings his artistic concerns became less descriptive and more abstract in nature
← LADY WRITING A LETTER WITH HER MAID
c. 1670-1671
oil on canvas
28 x 23 in. (71.1 x 58.4 cm.)
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Lady Seated at the Virginal, Johannes Vermeer
Vermeer's late paintings hold many technical surprises, one of the most daring is freely calligraphic brushwork seen in the rendering of the marbled spinet
← A LADY SEATED AT A VIRGINAL
c. 1670-1675
oil on canvas
20 3/4 x 17 7/8 in. (51.5 x 45.5 cm.)
The National Gallery, London