Johannes Vermeer, The Concert. Oil on canvas
The Concert represented a way of socializing. The people in the room are closely preoccupied with their music. Lying on the table is a lute, while a viola de gamba lies on the floor. Are the instruments soon to be taken up by the musicians, or someone else? I like how Vermeer's reflections of light is used to sparkle of the woman's pearls, the golden threads of the man's stash, the white silk skirt, and the Persian carpet mounded on the table. The theme in "The Concert" seems to be music and three musicians are portrayed in the painting: a female with a harpsichord, a man with a lute and a woman singing.
Dirck van Baburen, The Procuress. Oil on Canvas
The left drawing seems to be a rural landscape. The right drawing is by Dirck van Baburen, The Procuress, 1622, oil on canvas. I do not know why Vermeer put the painting of Baburen, The Procuress in his painting. Maybe it is because of Vermeer mother-in-law had owned the painting.
Johannes Vermeer, The Music Lesson. Oil on canvas
The Music Lesson seems similar to The Concert. The people belong naturally to he room and participate in the rhythm of the music. The difference between both paintings is the mood of The Concert is more relaxed than The Music Lesson. In The Music Lesson Vermeer attempts to stimulate several specific textures by varying the way he applied paint like the tassels on the chair to try and enhance their three-dimensional effect. In The Concert the table covering has a relatively abstract character and colors of the dress are painted more sparingly.
The Concert seems more in line with Vermeer's work of using light to create an energy. The Music Lesson appears much flatter and has less energy. Both of these paintings seem to use more color that we often see in works by Vermeer.
ReplyDeleteyes i do see how Vermeer has chose to focus on more of the details and his brush strokes. when i first looked at this piece i looked straight at the people and i didnt like it, but as i read what you said i can clearly see that texture is the focus. the way the light comes in through the windw and lights the scene makes this piece looks really realistic.
ReplyDelete