Research by Topic

The enigmatic nature Vermeer's artistry has inspired a vast number of interpretations. Any selection is therefore arduous to prepare and obviously incomplete.

Vermeer: The Complete Paintings by Walter Liedtke provides the most recent overview of Vermeer's oeuvre. Liedtke’s exploration yields subtleties of meaning and refinements of technique and style. Alongside the most historical approach to Vermeer to date, the annotated color catalogue of Vermeer’s complete paintings reveals a master whose rare sensibility may be described but not explained.

One of the most influential interpretations to date of Vermeer's artistry is Vermeer (1952) by Lawrence Gowing. Gowing, who himself was a talented painter, brought to light some of the most fundamental underlying themes and expressive mechanisms in Vermeer's painting which had, until then, laid fallow. It has proved almost impossible to evaluate Vermeer's work without, in one way or another, taking into consideration Gowing's penetrating insights.

Arthur Wheelock (Vermeer and the Art of Painting, 1995), who is fortunately one of the most prolific writers on Vermeer, offers many interesting insights linking painting techniques and methods to artistry. The catalogue of the Washington/The Hague Vermeer exhibition (Johannes Vermeer, 1998) also provides a wealth of valuable information. Wheelock's well-balanced interpretations are widely read and generally accepted.

Edward Snow (A Study of Vermeer,1994), who gratefully acknowledges the importance of Gowing's writings, takes a unique approach by utilizing for his analysis many notions belonging to the field of psychology. First published in 1979 and here presented in an expanded and elaborately revised version, starts from a single premise: that we respond so intensely to Vermeer because his paintings reach so deeply into our lives. Our desire for images, the distances that separate us, the validations we seek from the still world, the traces of ghostliness in our own human presence; these, the book proposes, are Vermeer's themes, which he pursues with a realism always in touch with the uncanny. As Snow traces the many counterpoised sensations that make up Vermeer's equanimity, he leads us into a world of nuances and surprise. A Study of Vermeer is passionate and visual in its commitments. His discussions of Vermeer's paintings are conducted in a language of patient observation, and they involve the reader in an experience of deepening relationship and ongoing visual discovery .Extremely enlightening.

Ivan Gaskell's essay, "Vermeer and the Limits of Interpretation," (Vermeer Studies, 1998) considers various forms of interpretation possible in Vermeer's painting. After defining three manners of interpretation, Gaskell illustrates his own, taking Woman Standing at a Spinet as a springboard. Vermeer's Wager (Essays in Art and Culture) (2000) by the same author, also provides many interesting considerations dealing with both Vermeer's painting and the context in which we understand a work of art.

Vermeer and the Invention of Seeing (2001) by Bryan Jay Wolf, is written in the same tradition as Edward Snow's classic. The book begins with a basic premise: not only are Vermeer's paintings beautiful; they are also very strange. Wolf attempts to place Vermeer in the context of his culture in order to explain that strangeness. The result makes for sometimes difficult reading, yet ultimately rewards the reader with provocative insights.

other important sources:

Thèophile Thorè, "Van der Meer de Delft," in Gazette des Beaux-Arts 21,1886

Nanette Salomon, "Vermeer and the Balance of Destiny," in Essays in Northern European Art Presented to Egbert Havenkamp- Begemann on His Sixtieth Birthday, ed. A. M. Logan, et al., pp 216.221, 1983

Martin Pops, Vermeer and the Chamber of Being, 1984

Daniel Arasse, Vermeer (Transl.by T. Grabar), Princeton, 1993, Vermeer, Faith in Painting (Transl.by T. Grabar), Princeton, 1993

Harry Peeters, "Vermeer and his Work. A View," in Dutch Society in the Age of Vermeer, Zwolle, 1996

Most existing monographs on Vermeer discuss at least briefly Vermeer's scarcely documented artistic development. One of the most penetrating is Vermeer (1952 and 1970) by Lawrence Gowing. Some very interesting insights can be found in "Genre Painting in Delft after 1650: De Hoogh and Vermeer" in Vermeer and the Delft School, (2001) by Walter Liedtke.

other sources:

J.M. Nash, "To finde the Mindes construction in the Face", in Johannes Vermeer,1998

Leonard J. Slatkes, "Utrecht and Delft: Vermeer and Caravaggism," in Johannes Vermeer,1998

Albert Blankert, "Vermeer's Modern Themes and Their Traditions" in Johannes Vermeer, 1998

Walter Liedtke, "Vermeer Teaching Himself,"in The Cambridge Companion to Vermeer (Cambridge Companions to the History of Art) 1998

Danile Arasse, Vermeer,Princeton,1998

Although many scholars have studied Vermeer's life, the most comprehensive work by far is Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History (1989) by John Montias. Montias has examined every surviving historical document regarding Vermeer and his milieu and has formed a meticulously constructed picture of the artist's personal life and his dealings with the artistic environment of Delft. This book has superseded all other studies on the artist's life and is now considered the foundation on which all further research on the artist's life must be based.

Anthony Bailey, in excellent prose, sums up much of what has been discovered in a very readable "biography" of Vermeer. See his, Vermeer: A View of Delft , (2001).

A brief but pertinent essay by Arthur Wheelock in Johannes Vermeer (1996) can also be read with profit.

other sources:

Wayne Franits, in The Cambridge Companion to Vermeer (Cambridge Companions to the History of Art), 2001

Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., Vermeer; The Complete Works, 1997

Walter Liedtke, "Genre Painting in Delft after 1650: De Hoogh and Vermeer", in Vermeer and the Delft School, edited by Walter Liedtke, 2001

Photographer Joseph Pennell in 1891 was the first person to suppose that Vermeer might have employed the aid of an optical device. Charles Seymour ("Dark Chamber in a Light Filled Room," Art Bulletin 46, 1964) put to the test the hypothesis that Vermeer had used the camera obscura by observing through a real 19th-century camera objects in lighting conditions similar to the ones found in Vermeer's paintings. The resulting quality of the images were very similar to some found in of the artist's works.

By far the most exhaustive investigation, and also the most disputed, is Vermeer's Camera: Uncovering the Truth behind the Masterpieces (2001) by Phillip Steadman. It is required reading for anyone interested not only in Vermeer's working methods, but in the artist himself. Steadman's Vermeer's Camera is an excellent web site with fascinating material by the same author.

Jean-Luc Delsau's essay "The Camera Obscura and the Painting in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries" (Vermeer Studies,1998), takes an in-depth look into the history of the camera's use in painting.

The Magic Mirror of Life: A Search for Camera Obscura Room is an excellent web site that deals with both the camera obscura room, which Vermeer may have been familiar with, and the mobile type that Vermeer most probably used.

other sources:

A. Mayor Hyatt, "The Photographic Eye," Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, new series, vol. 1, 1946

Heinrick Schwarts, "Vermeer and the Camera Obscura," in Pantheon 24, 1966

Daniel A. Fink, "Vermeer's Use of the Camera Obscura - A Comparative Study, "in The Art Bulletin 53, 1971

for a complete camera obscura bibliography, click here.

Vermeer's complex compositions have probably not been studied sufficiently. An overall comparative analysis would make a major contribution towards the understanding of one of Vermeer's principle vehicles of expression.

Arthur Wheelock, noted Vermeer expert, has delved into the intricacies of Vermeer's compositions in both Vermeer and the Art of Painting (1995) and the catalogue entries of the Washington/The Hague Vermeer exhibition, Johannes Vermeer (1998).

other sources:

An interesting web site Vermeer: Master Composer examines three Vermeer masterpieces which revealing surprising compositional similarities.

The National Gallery of Art web site examines Woman Holding a Balance in detail and examines its composition significance.

Gowing (Vermeer, 1952 and 1970), Snow (A Study of Vermeer 1994) and Wheelock (Vermeer and the Art of Painting, 1994) offer many interesting considerations on the nature of Vermeer's composition.

A brief technical analysis of the paintings which were present in the monumental Vermeer exhibition Washington/The Hague, 1995-1996 can be found in the catalogue, Johannes Vermeer, (1995).

Vermeer Illuminated: Conservation, Restoration and Research, edited by Jørgen Wadum provides an in-depth look at the restoration of two Vermeer's in the Mauritshuis, The View of Delft and Girl with a Pearl Earring.

Excellent technical reports of the four Vermeer's in The National Gallery of Art, Washington D. C. can be consulted directly on-line by clicking on the painting's title below.

Woman Holding a Balance

A Lady Writing a Letter

Girl with a Red Hat

Girl with a Flute

Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History by John Montias (1989)

Exhaustive research in Dutch archives has brought to light many documents concerning Vermeer, his family, his patrons and fellow painters. Mr. Montias, through them, patiently reconstructs the painter's personal life as well as the social and the artistic environment of Delft that he worked in. Truly fascinating reading.

Both the School of Delft and the artistic history of Delft are amply documented in Walter Liedtke's Vermeer and the Delft School (2001) making it one of the most comprehensive sources to date.

Also to be read is The Public and Private in the Age of Vermeer, by Arthur K. Wheelock (2003) Here, lay readers are given an overview of Vermeer's city, Delft, and the painters who depicted it around Vermeer's time. Essays by Wheelock and his Dutch colleagues get beyond the surface of the attractive still lives, city views, and domestic and institutional interiors to give a flavor of life and society in the Dutch Republic. Each of the 35 paintings in the exhibition is represented in an excellent plate and large detail and receives a thorough discussion in light of Dutch society, economy, religion, and so forth. Also included is a complete catalog of Vermeer's work

Anthony Bailey presents an intriguing portrait of Vermeer's life and character, long lost in history. Bailey re-creates the atmosphere of the times, introduces Vermeer's colleagues, portrays his domestic life in vibrant detail; he also sheds light on the science and artistry behind the glorious, almost mystical, paintings.

Vermeer: A View of Delft , by Anthony Bailey (2001)

other sources:

Bas van der Wulp, "A View of Delft in the Age of Vermeer," in The Public and Private in the Age of Vermeer, Zwolle, 1996

Kees van der Wiel, "Delft in the Golden Age," in The Public and Private in the Age of Vermeer, Zwolle, 1996

Jaap van der Veen, "The Delft Art Market in the Age of Vermeer, " in The Public and Private in the Age of Vermeer, Zwolle, 1996

Marie Christine van der Sman, "The Year of the Disaster: 1672, in The Public and Private in the Age of Vermeer, Zwolle, 1996

Dirk Jaap Noordam, "The Judicial System in Delft's Urban Society," in The Public and Private in the Age of Vermeer, Zwolle, 1996

However, for the internet navigator, a virtual treasure-trove of information on Vermeer and Delft lies only one click away. Dutch art historian Dr. Kees Kaldenbach has done in-depth research regarding various facets of Delft in Vermeer's time. He has presented some of his findings in extremely interesting web sites, some of which take full advantage of the advanced technologies which internet provides. They include:

Artists and Patrons in Delft

"The View of Delft": A Guided Art History Tour through the Painting

A 3-D Walk Through Historical Drawings of the South Gates of Delft depicted by Vermeer

Tow Barges, Freight Ships, and Herring Buses in Vermeer' View of Delft

Jan Vermeer's "The Little Street in Delft"- Was it Located in Delft at Nieuwe Langendijk 22-26?

Although few actual garments survive from Vermeer's time, Marieke de Winkel's essay "The Interpretation of Dress in Vermeer's Painting," (Vermeer Studies, 1998), analyzes their significance with the aid of accurately costumed dolls from seventeenth-century dollhouses

Delft workshops have become widely known thorough the world for the unique style and quality of their porcelain. During most of Vermeer's lifetime, Delft workshops produced only the baseboard tiles which protected the whitewashed walls when the floor was mopped. These tiles can be seen in many of Vermeer's paintings. Dr. Kees Kaldenbach's web site is certainly one of the most interesting to be found. He provides a number of very interesting documents as well as a map of all the faience workshops in Delft.

other sources:

Van Aken-Fehmers, "Porceleijn-backers vande Delsche porceleijn", in Van Aken-Fehmers et al., 1999

Ben Broos' essay "Vermeer: Malice and Misconception" (Vermeer Studies, 1998) outlines the problems of erroneous attributions and fakes since Vermeer's rediscovery in the 1850s. He also casts serious doubts on the most recent attribution of the Saint Praxedis by one of the foremost Vermeer scholars, Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.

The fascinating post-World War II forgery case had international repercussions not only regarding Vermeer scholarship, but art scholarship in general. The case has recently been brought up again by Jonathan Lopez in his finely researched and richly detailed The Man Who Made Vermeers. One may also access an article by Lopez online Van Meegeren’s Early Vermeers.