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Details of Vermeer's Painting Technique

As the art critic James Elkins pointed out, "The most challenging and innovative art history is written in thrall of detail: we are not only curious about it, we invest it with the capacity to unlock entire artistic practices, to reveal the way beyond critical impasses, to reach deeper strata of pictorial meaning, to show how images themselves are constituted in their historical, psychological and formal origins. The detail can be seen as the object of a properly scientific investigation. Just as a scientist looks into an atom, or a doctor into an ear, or a biologist into a microscope, so an art historian can peer into a picture. In this…model, when art historians concentrate on details they are only doing what scientists are charged with doing: they are systematically dissecting or disassembling their objects into component parts."James Elkins, “On the Impossibility of Close Reading: The Case of Alexander Marshack,” Current Anthropology 37, no. 2 (April 1996): 185-226.

Detail appears no less important for practicing painters than for art historians and scientists, especially beginners, who tend to indulge in minor incidents instead of attending to the larger planes of modeling. By concentrating on detail, the amateur painter creates space without air, and figures without solidity. Good illusionist painting, instead, is not the sum of many good details but principally the product of the broader relationships which, once captured, can be brought into greater focus via well-chosen detail. Period literature constantly reiterates this precept. Nonetheless, fine detail was and continues to be the raison d'être of various schools of art.

The ability to paint detailed works was a way for Dutch artists to showcase their skill and virtuosity. During this period, art was becoming more of a commodity, and artists often sought patronage from the burgeoning middle class. Demonstrating skill through detailed work was a way to attract patrons and distinguish themselves from other artists.

How far should detail be carried in a painting? Dutch painters went to both extremes. It was reported that the fijnschilder (fine painter) Gerrit Dou (1613– 1675) worked two weeks on a broom handle, and then claimed he had hoped to finish it in a few days more. Frans Hals (1580–1666) would paint a head in an hour. The answer lies in the central idea behind the picture. A "cabinet picture," a small canvas, will admit all the microscopic detail you can see. Large works must be painted very broadly.

While the ability to capture microscopic detail was lauded by Vermeer's contemporary public and art writers, painters were nonetheless advised to avoid excessively uniform modeling. Even Dou, who achieved a truly unbelievable level of detail, was praised by a contemporary painter and the art writer

Philips Angel II (c. 1618–1664) for a "curious looseness of brushwork." He warned "those less skilled than Dou against the lifeless description of surfaces that would result from painting in too stiff a manner."His booklet Lof der Schilder-konst ('Praise of the Art of Painting') situates itself in a line of art historical and theoretical writing in the Dutch Republic that started with the 'Schilder-boeck' published by Flemish émigré Karel van Mander in Haarlem in 1604. Angel gave his lecture at a time when he and other painters in Leiden were seeking permission to establish a guild to protect their economic interests. They likely also sought recognition as a group with an important socio-economic status in local society. The latter is reflected in the first part of the book which seeks to affirm the status of the painter's profession. Angel’s appreciation of Dou will probably strike most twenty-first-century observers as contrary to fact, but Dutch art lovers were evidently more used to inspecting paintings at very close quarters, at times, with the aid of a magnifying glass.

Vermeer did not dwell on detail. A magnifying glass is never necessary to fully appreciate any part of his pictures. Like Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin 1699 –1779) , who, when asked how he painted, said that he kept putting on touches until the thing looked finished, Vermeer was always interested in the overall impact. Monet (1840–1926) and Rembrandt, both accused of leaving their works unfinished, said the same thing as Chardin. On the other hand, for Van Mieris and Dou, detail was even more important than the whole. When the viewer walks away from their pictures, it is always this or that detail that is remembered rather than the composition, the lighting, or the sensation of space. Of all the fine interior painters, only Gerrit ter Borch  (1617–1681) and Gabriel Metsu (1629–1667) were able to subordinate detail for the sake of the whole, but surprisingly, the latter only when he emulated the works of Vermeer. With Vermeer, every detail stays back as it would in nature, losing itself in the part to which it belongs; modestly waiting to be sought out, unseen until it is looked for.

By clicking on the title of the painting to access a brief discussion of a particular aspect of Vermeer's painting technique and relative image.

The Morelli Method

Giovanni Morelli was an Italian art critic and political figure in the ninteenth century who developed an innovative method of art analysis, often referred to as the Morelli Method. This method focused on the importance of minor details in paintings for attributing artworks to specific artists. Morelli believed that artists, consciously or unconsciously, repeated certain minute, often overlooked details, such as the rendering of ears, hands, fingernails, and other seemingly trivial elements.

His method involved closely examining these small details to differentiate between works of the masters and their imitators or to identify previously misattributed paintings. Morelli's approach was revolutionary for its time and laid the groundwork for modern techniques in art attribution and connoisseurship. It also influenced the field of forensic science, where small details are crucial in identifying individuals.

Morelli's focus on details aligns with the broader understanding of their importance in art, emphasizing how even the smallest elements can hold significant information about the artist's identity, techniques, and intentions.

The Music Lesson (detail, Johannes Vermeer
The Music Lesson (detail of carpet)
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1662–1665
Oil on canvas, 73.3 x 64.5 cm.
The Royal Collection, The Windsor Castle
Diana and her Companions, Johannes Vermeer
Diana and her Companions
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1653–1656
Oil on canvas, 98.5 x 105 cm.
Mauritshuis, The Hague

Vermeer's first steps display technical uncertainties.
The Procuress, Johannes Vermeer
The Procuress
Johannes Vermeer
1656
Oil on canvas, 143 x 130 cm.
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden

Vermeer's used unconventional tools to realize his mimetic images.
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, Johannes Vermeer
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1657–1659
Oil on canvas, 83 x 64.5 cm.
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden

Extensive use of impasto in Vermeer's early painting to achieve unique pictorial effects.
Officer and Laughing Girl, Johannes Vermeer
Officer and Laughing Girl
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1655–1660
Oil on canvas, 50.5 x 46 cm.
Frick Collection, New York

Vermeer and the white-washed background wall.
The Music Lesson, Johannes Vermeer
The Music Lesson
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1662–1665
Oil on canvas, 73.3 x 64.5 cm.
The Royal Collection, The Windsor Castle

Vermeer's use of the costly pigment lapis lazuli instead of the much cheaper azurite was exceptional.
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, Johannes Vermeer
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1662–1665
Oil on canvas, 46.5 x 39 cm.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Vermeer's use of the badger brush.
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, Johannes Vermeer
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1662–1665
Oil on canvas, 46.5 x 39 cm.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

The subtly of Vermeer's white-washed background walls.
Woman with a Water Pitcher, Johannes Vermeer
Young Woman with a Water Pitcher
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1662–1665
Oil on canvas, 45.7 x 40.6 cm.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Vermeer's use of the costly pigment lapis lazuli instead of the much cheaper azurite was exceptional
.
A Lady Writing, Johannes Vermeer
A Lady Writing
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1662–1667
Oil on canvas, 45 x 39.9 cm.
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

Color or pigment?
Girl with a Red Hat, Johannes Vermeer
Girl with a Red Hat
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1665–1667
Oil on panel, 23.2 x 18.1 cm.
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Vermeer even used the tip of the brush's handle in his painting.
The Art of Painting, Johannes Vermeer
The Art of Painting
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1662–1668
Oil on canvas, 120 x 100 cm.
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Glazing was used to create colors and pictorial effects which cannot be obtained by direct mixture of paint.
The Lacemaker, Johannes Vermeer
The Lacemaker
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1669–1671
Oil on canvas on panel, 24.5 x 21 cm.
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Vermeer's use of the camera obscura.
The Lacemaker, Johannes Vermeer
The Lacemaker
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1669–1671
Oil on canvas on panel, 24.5 x 21 cm.
Musée du Louvre, Paris

Vermeer's use focus.
Guitar Player, Johannes Vermeer
The Guitar Player
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1670–1673
Oil on canvas, 53 x 46.3 cm.
Iveagh Bequest, London

In some of his later paintings Vermeer used green earth in the shadows of flesh tones.
A Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, Johannes Vermeer
Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1670–1671
Oil on canvas, 71.1 x 58.4 cm.
National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

In Vermeer's late paintings his artistic concerns became less descriptive and more abstract.
A lady Seated at a Virginal, Johannes Vermeer
A Lady Seated at a Virginal
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1670–1675
Oil on canvas, 51.5 x 45.5 cm.
National Gallery, London

Vermeer's late paintings hold many technical surprises, one of the most daring is freely calligraphic brushwork seen in the rendering of the marbled virginal.
Lady Standing at a Virginal, Johannes Vermeer
A Lady Standing at a Virginal
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1670–1674
Oil on canvas, 51.7 x 45.2 cm.
National Gallery, London

Vermeer and "nonsemantic" marks.
Lady Standing at a Virginal, Johannes Vermeer
A Lady Standing at a Virginal
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1670–1673
Oil on canvas, 51.7 x 45.2 cm.
National Gallery, London

Vermeer's paints pearl necklace in a very original manner.

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Looking Over Vermeer’s Shoulder

The complete study of Vermeer’s materials, artistry and painting techniques


Jonathan Janson

(painter & founder of Essential Vermeer.com)