The prospects of shedding light on the life of a painter as extensively studied as Vermeer are not really encouraging on the surface. Recently, a study that was carried out before, during, and after the Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in 2023 revealed deep insights into the compositions of the artist.
The research was conducted by scientists, conservators, and curators from institutions including the Rijksmuseum, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, The Frick Collection and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, and the University of Antwerp.
The same study earlier gave perception that in The Milkmaid, the artist initially included a jug holder and a fire basket but it was later painted out by him. Using the latest research technique, it has been pointed out that 30 out of 37 paintings attributed to Vermeer show changes, ranging from subtle corrections to radical alterations in composition and meaning. Furthermore, these findings offer new insights into Vermeer’s working methods, use of materials, and painting technique.
Most recently, the study shows that the renowned painting The Little Street inititally had a house with the doors closed. Further, it was also discovered that the woman who is seated in the doorway is a mirrored copy of the figure he at first placed at the alley’s entrance to the alley to the left of the house. These new findings on the artwork was linked to the previously known changes that Vermeer made in addition of the red shutter on right and the children playing on the doorstep.
Pieter Roelofs, Head of Fine Arts, Rijksmuseum says about the changing results in The Little Street,
“By literally opening the door, Vermeer makes the scene accessible to the viewer. These and the many other new discoveries in the book paint a picture of a dedicated artist constantly striving to perfect his paintings.”
A brief overview of this research says that in Diana and her Nymphs (Mauritshuis, The Hague), Vermeer originally painted an ornate quiver with arrows lying on the rock to the left of the goddess Diana. This quiver showed several striking similarities in design and color to the one at upid’s feet in Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden), which Vermeer painted a few years later.
Another point to note is that the wide brim of the black hat worn by the officer in Officer and Laughing Girl (The Frick Collection, New York) was originally adorned by Vermeer with several lavish, colorful feathers. Similar to these changes, in the Allegory of the Catholic Faith (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), the open book has the exact same page of The Life of Hugo in Generale Legende der Heyligen met het leven Iesu Christi ende Marie by Pedro de Ribadeneira and Heribert Rosweyde (third edition, 1640).
The research further emphasized that the artist’s use of blue and green pigments were changing over the course of his career, suggesting revisit of the chronology of some of his works. Several important personal things were also discovered in this research. For instance, a new document which bears Vermeer’s signature proves that he actively acted as a representative for his in-laws, the Thins-Bolnes family, managing their lands in Oud-Beijerland. And two newly discovered documents point to Maria de Knuijt, rather than to her husband, as Vermeer’s principal patron, who actively supported his work.
There are several other new discoveries and insights from this research that has been written in the book Closer to Vermeer: New Research on the Painter and His Art, which is available now. This book was published to mark the 350th anniversary of Vermeer’s death.
Featured Image: The Allegory of the Catholic Faith by Johannes Vermeer; Johannes Vermeer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
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