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Who was Vermeer: (1632-1675) Vermeer is referred to variously as "the great realist", "the Master of Delft" and "the Spinx of Delft". Much about him is shrouded in mystery. We know that he was exposed to the art world through the agency of his father, an art dealer in Delft, but his training is uncertain. Artists visiting Delft made the Vermeer's hotel the focal point of their stay, and doubtless left lasting impressions on the boy. He died in 1675 at only 43 years of age.

Historical context: Vermeer painted during the Golden Age of Holland at the close of her struggle for independence with Spain. It was an age of political and economic prosperity that spanned approximately the first three-quarters of the 17th Century. With the defeat of Catholicism in Holland, traditional patrons of the art such as the church and the nobility had disappeared, a fact that left artists to fend for themselves in the free market, a market dominated by a new Dutch merchant class. Vermeer is the last of a company of Master painters who chronicled in striking realism the inner life and soul of Dutch society during the period. He followed in the train of Rembrandt and others who turned from predominately religious themes to record the details of everyday life in God's creation (Genre Painting). This was the fruit of a society transformed by the Reformation, free enterprise, and the emerging scientific revolution.

Often reflected in his work are the poignant and somewhat tragic events of his personal life. After becoming established early in his career in the predominantly Reformed community of Delft, he converted to Catholicism in order to marry Catharina Bolnesis. She was a Catholic of rank and wealth above that of Vermeer, with whom he was genuinely in love. While this act overcame the barrier to marriage presented by his wife's mother, it limited the circle of his professional contacts in Protestant Delft. And, quite naturally to the outside observer, it appeared to trivialize and compromise his faith. Yet the reality of faith, truth, justice are recurring themes with Vermeer, especially late in his career. Intimations of this circumstance are seen often in love letters, being composed, received or read.

Summary of Vermeer's work: In some 35 surviving originals, Vermeer dealt with a diversity of themes encompassing love, domesticity, faith, justice, and community. Yet paradoxically, most of his work is set in two small rooms of his home, recording the same objects and the same subjects, usually women.

Vermeer built on and perfected the technique of earlier masters, especially his countryman Rembrandt. His ability to render light was the essential aspect of his work. His paintings evoke a tranquil, dreamlike impression, not in their transcience, but in their ability to produce a mysterious recognition or remembrance. Reinforcing this effect is Vermeer's capacity for imparting to ordinary objects a sometimes symbolic meaning that is not always immediately obvious. His renderings reward careful study, even meditation, and for this reason were not fully appreciated until some 200 years after his death, when his genius was finally recognized. This was in spite of the fact that he was regarded as an accomplished master by many in his own generation.

Vermeer produced this effect with his powerful use of chiaroscuro, especially his dramatic use of light. Chiaroscuro is the treatment of light and shade to create a dramatic effect in painting. From a source -- almost always to the left -- Vermeer's paintings are bathed in a patina of light that shines from the faces and other surfaces, glances from crevices and softly illuminates the shadows. He creates this effect with countless points of white paint, which are revealed in magnification.

The result is a nearly photographic impression that is "larger than life" in its ability to transcend the ordinary setting it depicts and capture a mood or a "moment in eternity." There is a haunting quality in Vermeer that springs not only from his technique, but from his depiction of gesture, expression, meeting, complicity.and contemplation. These are used not just to depict a typical scene or gesture, as in genre painting, but rather to capture the significance of social and domestic relationships in 17th Century Delft.

One of the finest examples is The Astronomer, most likely a self-portrait and regarded as a masterpiece because of the vitality of its light. "This very special light lies softly on persons and objects like a silent veil, infusing the entire atmosphere with magic," said eminent art historian and critic Federico Zeri. (Vermeer, The Astronomer, Printed and bound by Poligrafici Calderara S.p.A., Bologna Italy, 1998). The Astronomer is also an example of Vermeer's subtle employment of symbol. The subject's hands are highlighted in illumination, his left hand resting by an open book, the symbol of knowledge, and his right hand extended to the world in a deft gesture of discovery or application.

Implications for subsequent history: The profundity of Vermeer's painting was not appreciated until the 19th Century, when serious efforts were begun to catalogue and recover his work. The problem was amplified in that, unlike Rembrandt, he left no disciples, but stands alone in his genius.

Biblical Analysis: Vermeer is noteworthy for his use of allegory in the symbolism of ordinary objects to convey meaning that is not always immediately obvious. The symbolism is often reinforced by the painting of a picture within a picture. In The Allegory of Faith, painted just five years before his death, Vermeer captures the Biblical attributes of victorious faith. A majestic tapestry is drawn aside to reveal a woman seated with foot on a celestial globe, having overcome the world.

A serpent with a crushed head lies bleeding on the floor. This is an obvious allusion to the proto-evangeleum addressed to Eve in Genesis 3:15 -- "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman and between thy seed and her seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." The glass globe suspended from the ceiling is difficult to interpret; perhaps it depicts the fragility of earthly existence suspended as it were by a silver chord from the heavens. As death is described by the Preacher, should "...ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" (Eccl. 12:6,7).

Her hand to her heart and a gaze of reverent relief directed upward point to the divine Source of the woman's faith. That Source is signified in the crucifix at her side and powerfully reinforced by the painting within the painting, the crucified Christ on the wall behind her. The double depiction of a dead Christ rather than a risen Christ, a reflection of Vermeer's Catholicism, detracts only slightly from the power of the symbolism.

Corrective or Prescriptive actions: Sadly, the dominant event of Vermeer's life -- forsaking the faith of his father to join the Roman church in deference to human love -- compromises the message of his art. Jesus calls us to place allegiance to Him above earthly affections. It was for this cause that Solomon made shipwreck of his faith and it was in repentance thereof that the Jews responded to Nehemiah's reform. Faith must be the overriding factor in the choice of a marriage partner; for the Psalmist there can be no other way: "Can two walk together except they be agreed?" We see this illustrated in the arranged marriages of Scripture, Abraham's commissioning his servant to choose a woman of faith for Isaac, being the primary example. This is in contrast to the Romantic image, which makes human love an irresistible force, that cannot be denied.

"The World of Vermeer," Hans Koningsberger & and Editors of Time-Life Books (Time Incorporated: New York, N.Y., 1967)

"Vermeer & the Art of Painting," Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr. (Yale University Press: New Haven and London, 1995)

"Vermeer The Astronomer," Frederico Zeri and Marco Dolcetta (oligrafici Calderara S.p.A.: Bologna, Italy, 2000)

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