Origin, History and Characteristics
(oltremare, lapis lazuli)
Vermeer, as many painters of his time, employed a very limited palette. The only substantial difference in his palette in respects to those of his contemporaries was the extensive use of natural ultramarine (pure lapis lazuli) rather than the much cheaper azurite.
fig. 1 The Virgin in Prayer
Sassoferrato
c. 1640-1650
Oil on canvas, 73 × 57.7 cm.
National Gallery, London
Natural ultramarine is made of the powder of the crushed semi-precious stone lapis lazuli which, after being thoroughly purified by repeated washings, is bonded to a drying oil through hand mulling. The exact proportions between pigment (powdered lapis lazuli) and vehicle (natural drying oil) and correct amount of hand mulling necessary to produce the highest quality paint can be only acquired by experience. Even when the process is mastered the resulting paint has a very fastidious stringy quality which makes it difficult to brush out evenly. However, mixed with white this defect is less noticeable. The final product is a very deep transparent blue. Set aside other pigments on the artist's palette, it is one of the darkest, only black is darker. Mixed with lead white, it maintains its radiant purity and brilliance even in the palest shades. The superior cost, complicated preparation and poor brushing qualities of natural ultramarine are offset by the exceptional brilliance and purity of the final product (fig. 1). Genuine ultramarine made of lapis lazuli is no longer produced and has been replaced by synthetically produced ultramarine blue.Natural ultramarine consists of large particles of blue lazurite combined with accessory minerals, such as calcite and silica (seen as transparent edges or particles in the photomicrograph). Synthetic ultramarine offers a more intense blue compared to its natural counterpart. This is attributed to the smaller and more uniform particle size in the synthetic variant, which allows for a more consistent diffusion of light. Remarkably stable, its color remains unaffected by light and, when used in oil or fresco. However, exposure to weak acid causes the pigment to bleach rapidly, releasing hydrogen sulfide in the process. Interestingly, adding even a modest amount of zinc oxide, particularly to the reddish variants of ultramarine, markedly reduces the intensity of the color, demonstrating the pigment’s sensitivity to chemical alterations. George O'Hanlon, "Ultramarine Blue Pigment And Oil Paint: A Comprehensive Guide For Artists," Natural Pigments, January 13, 2024, accessed January 18, 2024, URL: https://www.naturalpigments.eu/artist-materials/ultramarine-blue-color-notes?variation.
Most painters used natural ultramarine economically in thin glazes over an opaque underpainting rather than in body color. At times, it was used as an underpaint beneath a copper-green glaze. Small quantities of finely milled ultramarine, likely ultramarine ash, were employed to enhance the brightness of white paint.
For their blue paints, the most highly paid Dutch artists such as Vermeer, Gerrit ter Borch and Gerrit Dou, relied primarily on costly ultramarine. "Other artists, however, made strategic choices. At the same time, the use of ultramarine, even a little, was a wise investment that signalled a work of art produced for an exclusive market."E. Melanie Gifford and Lisha Deming Glinsman, “Collective Style and Personal Manner: Materials and Techniques of High-Life Genre Painting,” in Adriaan E. Waiboer, Arthur K. Wheelock, and Blaise Ducos, Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting, (New Haven: Yale University Press in association with the National Gallery of Ireland, 2017) 72.
LOOKING OVER VERMEER'S SHOULDER
The complete book about Johannes Vermeer's and 17th-century fine-painting techniques and materials
by Jonathan Janson | 2020
Enhanced by the author's dual expertise as both a seasoned painter and a renowned authority on Vermeer, Looking Over Vermeer's Shoulder offers an in-depth exploration of the artistic techniques and practices that elevated Vermeer to legendary status in the art world. The book meticulously delves into every aspect of 17th-century painting, from the initial canvas preparation to the details of underdrawing, underpainting, finishing touches, and glazing, as well as nuances in palette, brushwork, pigments, and compositional strategy. All of these facets are articulated in an accessible and lucid manner.
Furthermore, the book examines Vermeer's unique approach to various artistic elements and studio practices. These include his innovative use of the camera obscura, the intricacies of his studio setup, and his representation of his favorite motifs subjects, such as wall maps, floor tiles, and "pictures within pictures."
By observing closely the studio practices of Vermeer and his preeminent contemporaries, the reader will acquire a concrete understanding of 17th-century painting methods and materials and gain a fresh view of Vermeer's 35 masterworks, which reveal a seamless unity of craft and poetry.
While the book is not structured as a step-by-step instructional guide, it serves as an invaluable resource for realist painters seeking to enhance their own craft. The technical insights offered are highly adaptable, offering a wealth of knowledge that can be applied to a broad range of figurative painting styles.
LOOKING OVER VERMEER'S SHOULDER
author: Jonathan Janson
date: 2020 (second edition)
pages: 294
illustrations: 200-plus illustrations and diagrams
formats: PDF
$29.95
CONTENTS
- Vermeer's Training, Technical Background & Ambitions
- An Overview of Vermeer’s Technical & Stylistic Evolution
- Fame, Originality & Subject Matte
- Reality or Illusion: Did Vermeer’s Interiors ever Exist?
- Color
- Composition
- Mimesi & Illusionism
- Perspective
- Camera Obscura Vision
- Light & Modeling
- Studio
- Four Essential Motifs in Vermeer’s Oeuvre
- Drapery
- Painting Flesh
- Canvas
- Grounding
- “Inventing,” or Underdrawing
- “Dead-Coloring,” or Underpainting
- “Working-up,” or Finishing
- Glazing
- Mediums, Binders & Varnishes
- Paint Application & Consistency
- Pigments, Paints & Palettes
- Brushes & Brushwork
Natural Ultramarine in Vermeer's Painting
The use of natural ultramarine in Vermeer's painting could easily constitute a study in itself. Although genuine ultramarine can be found in almost every painting by Vermeer, it is truly surprising to what extent Vermeer actually employed the pigment. Not only is it found in blue colored objects themselves but upon close inspection traces can be found in the shaded portions of white drapery, ceramic jugs (fig. 2), black marble tiles, green foliage, white washed walls and even in the shadows of the brilliant orange gown in The Glass of Wine. A fine example of genuine ultramarine can be seen in the satin gown of Woman in Blue Reading a Letter (fig. 3), although it is now less brilliant today due to aging of the varnish. The gem-like depth of the wrap (fig. 4) in The Milkmaid is another. In this case, the excellent state of conservation of the painting allows us to appreciate in full the chromatic brilliance of pure lapis lazuli.
fig. 4 The Milkmaid (detail)
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1658–1661
Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 41 cm.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
"In The Music Lesson, ultramarine was used for the shadow in the flesh tones of the male figure. It is also found combined in mixtures to produce a range of other colors: for example ultramarine has been mixed with red lake to form an array of purples such as the leaded lights, tablecloth pattern, man's sash and for shading the wall on the left. Most extraordinary, however is that the costly mineral blue pigment was used to produce the mixed brown of the ceiling beams, with the likely aim of achieving an integrated coloristic harmony."Helen Howard, David Peggie, and Rachel Billinge, "Pigments," Vermeer's Palette, National Gallery, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/research/about-research/the-meaning-of-making/vermeer-and-technique/vermeers-palette.
The ultramarine-containing paint used by Vermeer has sometimes blanched with time resulting in a generally paler color than it would have been originally in a number of areas, for example in the design of the tiles in The Lady Seated at a Virginal (fig. 5). The darkening of the binding medium and additional components present in the paint layers of the curtain and tablecloth in The Guitar Player make it difficult to be sure whether a dark purple-blue or blue-green color was originally intended for these fields of color.Helen Howard, David Peggie, and Rachel Billinge, "Pigments," Vermeer's Palette, National Gallery, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/research/about-research/the-meaning-of-making/vermeer-and-technique/vermeers-palette.
Vermeer's copious use of natural ultramarine seems to have reached an almost obsessive degree unless we understand just how perceptive was the artist's eye. Vermeer realized early in his career that the admixture of genuine ultramarine with tones of gray, usually composed of lead white, bone black and raw umber in varying proportions, lends them a characteristic luminosity produced by intense daylight which cannot be produced otherwise. This technique is to found only in Vermeer's paintings. Mixtures of blue in the shadows was to be employed many years later by the French impressionists to suggest the effect of full daylight.
Another example of Vermeer's extensive use of natural ultramarine can be found in Young Woman with a Water Pitcher (fig. 6) Obviously, it was used to paint the folded blue drapery on the table, in a more or less conventional way. It was also used in the window to render the incoming daylight which passes through the glass pains. Vermeer applied delicate opaque and semi-transparent layers of natural ultramarine mixed with white lead in varying proportions over the warm tone of the canvas preparation which in places can still be observed in order to register the varying degrees of intensity of light as it plays on and through the surface of the uneven glass. Observed with care, we can see that even the lead molding has been painted with lapis lazuli, this time Vermeer brushed genuine ultramarine mixed with only a very small quantity of white over the darker underpainting. The contrast between the bluish overtone of the glass and the warm toned sunlight portion of the window frame is absolutely natural. The head dress worn by the young woman was first modeled in shades of white and neutral gray. Once dry, Vermeer superimposed the pale shades of genuine ultramarine to render the candid transparency of the starched cloth inundated by sunlight. Natural ultramarine is even found in the light gray paint of the background wall.
Shadows of white objects are particularly difficult to integrate into the overall tonality of a painting. Dutch painters invariably used mixtures of black or raw umber to render the shadows of white objects and to deepen tones of local color as well. While this technique maintains a chromatic unity within the painting, it fails to suggest the freshness of natural daylight that Vermeer strove to capture.
Recent examination of the Lady Seated at a Virginal Helen Howard, David Peggie, and Rachel Billinge, "Pigments," Vermeer's Palette, National Gallery, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/research/about-research/the-meaning-of-making/vermeer-and-technique/vermeers-palette. has revealed that Vermeer combined precious ultramarine with the rather mundane green earth, a flat green pigment, to form a range of blue-greens for the lady's dress (fig. 7). Mixtures of ultramarine and green earth were also applied over an underpaint of green earth combined with black for the patterned curtain in this painting.
- BOON, J. and OBERTHALER, E., "Mechanical Weakness and Chemical Reactivity Observed in the Paint Structure and Surface of 'The Art of Painting'" in Vermeer: Die Malkunst - Spurensicherung an einem Meisterwerk, exh. cat., Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 2010, 235–53 and 328–35.
- CARYLE, Leslie A. "Beyond a Collection of Data: What We Can Learn from Documentary Sources on Artists' Materials and Techniques." In Historical Painting Techniques, Materials, and Studio Practice: Preprints of a Symposium, edited by Arie Wallert, Erma Hermens, and Marja Peek, 1-5. University of Leiden, the Netherlands, 26-29 June 1995.
- COSTARAS, Nicola. "A Study of the Materials and Techniques of Johannes Vermeer." In Vermeer Studies, edited by Ivan Gaskell and Michiel Jonker, Studies in the History of Art 55, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, Symposium Papers XXXIII. Washington: National Gallery of Art & New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998, 145–167.
- DELANEY, John K., Kathryn A. Dooley, Annelies van Loon, and Abbie Vandivere. “Mapping the Pigment Distribution of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Heritage Science 8, no. 4 (January 7, 2020). Accessed May 2, 2022.
- EASTAUGH, Nicholas, Valentine Walsh, Tracey Chaplin and Ruth Siddall. The Pigment Compendium 2017. Rev. ed. (e-version). London: The Pigmentum Project, 2016.
- FINK, Daniel A. "Vermeer's Use of the Camera Obscura: A Comparative Study." The Art Bulletin 53 (1971).
- GIEBE, Marlies. “Johannes Vermeers ‘Kupplerin’: Restaurierung Und Maltechnische Befunde.” In Uta Neidhardt and Marlies Giebe, eds., Johannes Vermeer: Bei der Kupplerin, 39–64. Exh. cat. Dresden: Michel Sandstein in association with Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, 2004.
- GIFFORD, E. Melanie, Anikó Bezur, Andrea Guidi di Bagno, and Lisha Deming Glinsman. “The Making of a Luxury Image: Van Aelst’s Painting Materials and Artistic Techniques.” In Tanya Paul, James Clifton, Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., and Julie Hochstrasser, Elegance and Refinement: The Still-Life Paintings of Willem van Aelst, 80–84. Exh. cat. New York: Skira Rizzoli, 2012.
- GIFFORD, M. "Painting Light: Recent Observations on Vermeer's Technique." In Vermeer Studies, edited by Ivan Gaskell and Michiel Jonker. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art & New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998, 185–199.
- GIFFORD, E. Melanie, and Lisha Deming Glinsman. “Collective Style and Personal Manner: Materials and Techniques of High-Life 'Genre Painting'.” In Waiboer, Wheelock, and Ducos, Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting, 65–84, 270–74.
- GIFFORD, E. Melanie, Dina Anchin, Alexandra Libby, Marjorie E. Wieseman, Kathryn A. Dooley, Lisha Deming Glinsman, John K. Delaney. "First Steps in Vermeer’s Creative Process: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 14, no. 2 (Summer 2022).
- GIFFORD, E. Melanie. “Fine Painting and Eloquent Imprecision: Gabriel Metsu’s Painting Technique.” In Adriaan E. Waiboe, Gabriel Metsu, 154–79. New Haven: Yale University Press in association with the National Gallery of Art, 2010.
- GIFFORD, E. Melanie. “Lievens’ Technique: ‘Wonders in Smeared Paint, Varnishes and Oils.’” In Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered, edited by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., 41–53. Exh. cat. New Haven: Yale University Press in association with the National Gallery of Art, 2008.
- GIFFORD, E. Melanie. “Material as Metaphor: Non-Conscious Thinking in Seventeenth Century Painting Practice.” In Studying Old Master Paintings: Technology and Practice, edited by Marika Spring, 165–72. London: Archetype in association with The National Gallery, 2011.
- GIFFORD, E. Melanie. “Painting Light: Recent Observations on Vermeer’s Technique.” In Vermeer Studies, edited by Gaskell and Jonker, 185–99.
- GROEN, Karin M., Inez D. van der Werf, Klaas Jan van den Berg, and Jaap J. Boon. "Scientific Examination of Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'." In Vermeer Studies, edited by Ivan Gaskell and Michiel Jonker. Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art & New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998, 169–183.
- HOMMES, M.H. van Eikema. "Verdigris Glazes in Historical Oil Paintings: Instructions and Techniques." In Discoloration in Renaissance and Baroque Oil Paintings. Instructions for Painters, Theoretical Concepts, and Scientific Data. Dissertation, 2002.
- HOWARD, Helen, David Peggie and Rachel Billinge. "Vermeer and Technique." National Gallery website. https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/research/about-research/the-meaning-of-making/vermeer-and-technique
- JANSON, Jonathan. Looking Over Vermeer's Shoulder: Seventeenth-Century Painting Techniques and Studio Practices with Particular Focus on the Work of Johannes Vermeer, second edition. USA, 2020.
- KÜHN, Herman. "A Study of the Pigments and the Grounds used by Jan Vermeer." Reports and Studies in the History of Art. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1968.
- LAURENZE-LANDSBERG, Claudia. “Neutron-Autoradiography of Two Paintings by Jan Vermeer in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin.” In Wolfgang Lefèvre, ed., Inside the Camera Obscura: Optics and Art under the Spell of the Projected Image, 213–25. Berlin: Max-Planck Institute for the History of Science, 2007.
- LEVY-HALM, Koos. “Where Did Vermeer Buy His Painting Materials? Theory and Practice.” In Gaskell and Jonker, Vermeer Studies, 137–43.
- LIBBY, Alexandra, E. Melanie Gifford, Dina Anchin, Marjorie E. Wieseman, Kathryn A. Dooley, Lisha Deming Glinsman, John K. Delaney. "Experimentation and Innovation in Vermeer’s Girl with the Red Hat: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 14, no. 2 (Summer 2022).
- LIEDTKE, Walter A., Richard C. Johnson, and Don H. Johnson. “Canvas Matches in Vermeer: A Case Study in the Computer Analysis of Fabric Supports.” Metropolitan Museum Journal 47 (2012): 101–8.
- LOON, Annelies van, Abbie Vandivere, John K. Delaney, Kathryn A. Dooley, Steven De Meyer, Frederik Vanmeert, Victor Gonzalez, Koen Janssens, Emilien Leonhardt, Ralph Haswell, Suzan de Groot, Paolo D’Imporzano and Gareth R. Davies. “Beauty is Skin Deep: The Skin Tones of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Heritage Science 7, no. 102 (December 11, 2019). Accessed May 2, 2022.
- LOON, Annelies van, Alessa A. Gambardella, Victor Gonzalez, Marine Cotte, Wout De Nolf, Katrien Keune, Emilien Leonhardt, Suzan de Groot, Art Ness Proaño Gaibor, and Abbie Vandivere. “Out of the Blue: Vermeer’s Use of Ultramarine in Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Heritage Science 8, no. 25 (February 28, 2020). Accessed May 2, 2022.
- MAHON, Dorothy, Silvia A. Centeno, Margaret Iacono, Federico Carό, Heike Stege and Andrea Obermeier. “Johannes Vermeer’s Mistress and Maid: New Discoveries Cast Light on Changes to the Composition and the Discoloration of Some Paint Passages.” Heritage Science 8, no. 30 (March 27, 2020). Accessed May 2, 2022.
- NEIDHART, Uta, and Marlies GIEBE, with essays by Albert Blankert, Chrisitne Klose, Johann Koller, Annalise Mayer-Meintsschel et al. Johannes Vermeer 'Bei der Kupplerin,' exh. cat. Dresden, 2004.
- PEETERS, Natasja. “The Painter’s Apprentice in Fifteenth and Sixteenth Century Antwerp: An Analysis of the Archival Sources.” Mélanges de l’École française de Rome: Italie et Méditerranée modernes et contemporaines, nos. 131–2 (2019), 221–27, https://doi.org/10.4000/mefrim.6461.
- POTTASCH, Carol. “Underdrawings in the Paintings of Frans van Mieris.” In Quentin Buvelot, Frans van Mieris 1635–1681, 62–68. Exh. cat. Zwolle: Waanders 2005.
- OBERTHALER, E., J. Boon, S. Stanek, and M. Griesser. "'The Art of Painting' by Johannes Vermeer. History of Treatments and Observations on the Present Condition." In Vermeer, Die Malkunst: Spurensicherung an einem Meisterwerk, exh. cat. Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum, 2010, 215–234 and 322–327. See especially illustrations 49 and 50.
- SHELDON, L., and N. Costaras. "Johannes Vermeer's 'Young Woman Seated at a Virginal'." The Burlington Magazine 148 (February 2006): 89–97.
- SIVEL, Valerie, Joris Dik, Paul Alkemade, Libby Sheldon, and Henny Zandbergen. “The Cloak of Young Woman Seated at a Virginal: Vermeer, or a Later Hand?” ArtMatters: Netherlands Technical Studies in Art 4 (2007): 90–96.
- SLUIJTER, Eric Jan. “Emulative Imitation among High-Life Genre Painters.” In Waiboer, Wheelock, and Ducos, Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting, 36–49.
- STEADMAN, Phillip. Vermeer's Camera: Uncovering the Truth behind the Masterpieces. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
- STOLS-WITLOX, Maartje. A Perfect Ground: Preparatory Layers for Oil Paintings, 1550–1900. London: Archetype Publications, 2017..
- VANDIVERE, Abbie, Annelies van Loon, Kathryn A. Dooley, Ralph Haswell, Robert G. Erdmann, Emilien Leonhardt, and John K. DELANEY. “Revealing the Painterly Technique beneath the Surface of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring Using Macro- and Microscale Imaging.” Heritage Science 7, no. 64 (September 2, 2019). Accessed May 2, 2022.
- VANDIVERE, Abbie, Annelies van Loon, Tom Callewaert, Ralph Haswell, Art Ness Proaño Gaibor, Henk van Keulen, Emilien Leonhardt, and Joris Dik. “Fading into the Background: The Dark Space surrounding Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Heritage Science 7, no. 69 (September 16, 2019). Accessed May 2, 2022.
- VANDIVERE, Abbie, ed., “The Girl in the Spotlight: A Technical Re-Examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Special Collection, Heritage Science 7–8 (2019–20). Accessed May 2, 2022.
- VANDIVERE, Abbie, Jørgen Wadum, and Emiliene Leonhardt. “The Girl in the Spotlight: Vermeer at Work, His Materials and Techniques in Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Heritage Science 8, no. 20 (March 2, 2020). Accessed May 2, 2022.
- VANDIVERE, Abbie. “The Technical (Re-)Examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Heritage Science 8, no. 26 (March 11, 2020). Accessed May 2, 2022.
- VERSLYPE, Ige. “The Restoration of ‘Woman in Blue Reading a Letter’ by Johannes Vermeer.” The Rijksmuseum Bulletin 60, no. 1 (2012): 2–19.
- WALD, Robert. “The Art of Painting: Observations on Approach and Technique.” In Sabine Haag, Elke Oberthaler, and Sabine Pénot, Vermeer, Die Malkunst: Spurensicherung an einem Meisterwerk, 312–27. Exh. cat. St. Pölten: Residenz in association with Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, 2010.
- WALLERT, Arie. “The Materials and Methods of Michiel Sweerts’s Paintings.” In Jansen and Sutton, Michiel Sweerts, 37–47.
- WADUM, Jørgen, René Hoppenbrouwers, and Luuk Struick van der Loeff. Vermeer Illuminated: Conservation, Restoration and Research: A Report on the Restoration of the View of Delft and the Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer. Wormer: V+K in association with the Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis, The Hague, 1994.
- WADUM, Jørgen. "Contours of Vermeer." In Vermeer Studies. New Haven and London, 1998, 201–223.
- WHEELOCK, Arthur K., Jr. Vermeer and the Art of Painting. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1995.
- WIESEMAN, Marjorie E. “Acquisition or Inheritance? Material Goods in Paintings by Vermeer and His Contemporaries.” In Waiboer, Wheelock, and Ducos, Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting, 50–63.
- WIESEMAN, Marjorie E., Alexandra Libby, E. Melanie Gifford, Dina Anchin. "Vermeer’s Studio and the Girl with a Flute: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 14, no. 2 (Summer 2022).