Dutch Visual Culture
Important Passages Explained
“‘Do you remember the painting we saw in the Town Hall a few years ago, which van Ruijven was displaying after he bought it? It was a view of Delft, from the Rotterdam and Schiedam Gates. With the sky that took up so much of the painting, and the sunlight on some of the buildings.’
‘And the paint had sand in it to make the brickwork and the roofs look rough,’ I added. ‘And there were long shadows in the water, and tiny people on the shore nearest us.’
‘That's the one.’ Father's sockets widened as if he still had eyes and was looking at the painting again. I remembered it well, remembered thinking that I had stood at the very spot many times and never seen Delft the way the painter had’” (Chevalier p. 4).
This exchange between Griet and her father discusses the style of light manipulation and texture in Dutch visual culture in landscape and still life paintings. The Dutch used two types of texture in their paintings- visually active and visually restful. The former is employed in the painting described in this passage, as it employs sand to alter the physical quality of the painting and changes the visual medium in that portion of the painting. Physical texture and visual texture were often employed tools of Dutch painters due to their importance in mimetic painting, the most common subject of Dutch art. The dialogue also discusses the idealistic use of lighting and weight placed on the sky-scape. These are mainstay style choices of 17th century Dutch art. Lighting was used as a guiding tool and mood setter, indicating cheery nature or ideal settings in gardens and buildings.
‘And the paint had sand in it to make the brickwork and the roofs look rough,’ I added. ‘And there were long shadows in the water, and tiny people on the shore nearest us.’
‘That's the one.’ Father's sockets widened as if he still had eyes and was looking at the painting again. I remembered it well, remembered thinking that I had stood at the very spot many times and never seen Delft the way the painter had’” (Chevalier p. 4).
This exchange between Griet and her father discusses the style of light manipulation and texture in Dutch visual culture in landscape and still life paintings. The Dutch used two types of texture in their paintings- visually active and visually restful. The former is employed in the painting described in this passage, as it employs sand to alter the physical quality of the painting and changes the visual medium in that portion of the painting. Physical texture and visual texture were often employed tools of Dutch painters due to their importance in mimetic painting, the most common subject of Dutch art. The dialogue also discusses the idealistic use of lighting and weight placed on the sky-scape. These are mainstay style choices of 17th century Dutch art. Lighting was used as a guiding tool and mood setter, indicating cheery nature or ideal settings in gardens and buildings.
“‘You know that your new master is headman of the Guild of St. Luke, and was when your father had his accident last year?’…‘The Guild looks after its own, as best it can’” (Chevalier 8).
Griet’s mother rhetorically asked Griet while she was packing to move if she knew Vermeer was the headman of the Guild of St. Luke. Vermeer was a high profile painter even in his own time and a member of the upper class in Delft. In 1665 he was in his prime, highly involved within Delft, and headman of the Guild. His reputation within the town carried a lot of weight and so when Griet’s father heard he needed an aid, her father put forth Griet’s name. Vermeer knew about the family’s situation and proposed to help while satisfying his own needs. As a member of the Guild, they did look after Griet’s father and family by providing compensation when a guild member could no longer work due to injury. They were able to fund this form of security from the annual fee for the members and fines on unregistered artists. Being a member of the Guild of St. Luke allowed artists and artisans to control the market and drive down competition from foreign places. Vermeer was able to paint at his own pace and not have trouble selling his works at a high price largely in part because of the Guild. The selective supply of paintings along with the high demand for them created a comfortable lifestyle for painters and other artists and artisans.
Griet’s mother rhetorically asked Griet while she was packing to move if she knew Vermeer was the headman of the Guild of St. Luke. Vermeer was a high profile painter even in his own time and a member of the upper class in Delft. In 1665 he was in his prime, highly involved within Delft, and headman of the Guild. His reputation within the town carried a lot of weight and so when Griet’s father heard he needed an aid, her father put forth Griet’s name. Vermeer knew about the family’s situation and proposed to help while satisfying his own needs. As a member of the Guild, they did look after Griet’s father and family by providing compensation when a guild member could no longer work due to injury. They were able to fund this form of security from the annual fee for the members and fines on unregistered artists. Being a member of the Guild of St. Luke allowed artists and artisans to control the market and drive down competition from foreign places. Vermeer was able to paint at his own pace and not have trouble selling his works at a high price largely in part because of the Guild. The selective supply of paintings along with the high demand for them created a comfortable lifestyle for painters and other artists and artisans.
“I slowed my pace. Years of hauling water, wringing out clothes, scrubbing floors, emptying chamberpots, with no chance of beauty or color or light in my life, stretched before me like a landscape of flat land where, a long way off, the sea is visible but can never be reached ” (Chevalier p. 142).
Life as a maid was not the life that most girls dream of, but career paths for women in the 17th century Netherland was very limited. Women became stay at home moms, tending to mundane shores such as cleaning, cooking, and raising their children. This was common in most cultures at the time, where women are seen as the caretaker of children and of the house hold. Not until recent times that women become independent and pursuit careers that once was a “man’s job”.
Griet has an incredible sense for colors and she should be working at a gallery or become a painter. Not only did she have keen eyes for art, but she also has the passion and love for them. She understood that the more she grinds the color materials the color gets more vibrant. The passage above brings about her hopelessness. She knew that she was going to marry Pieter, a well-off butcher, still she wanted more. She wants the ocean, but she described it as unreachable and that her life is dull and without colors.
The hopelessness of Griet and other women at the time translated to paintings we see today. Even though paintings of women and maids are beautiful, it brings out the dullness in these women’s lives. For example, Vermeer’s masterpiece, the milkmaid, depicts a maid pouring milk. Her dress is plain and she lacks facial expression. The way that women are portrayed in these paintings was a result of Dutch culture during 17th century. [Sataporn Worasilpchai]
Life as a maid was not the life that most girls dream of, but career paths for women in the 17th century Netherland was very limited. Women became stay at home moms, tending to mundane shores such as cleaning, cooking, and raising their children. This was common in most cultures at the time, where women are seen as the caretaker of children and of the house hold. Not until recent times that women become independent and pursuit careers that once was a “man’s job”.
Griet has an incredible sense for colors and she should be working at a gallery or become a painter. Not only did she have keen eyes for art, but she also has the passion and love for them. She understood that the more she grinds the color materials the color gets more vibrant. The passage above brings about her hopelessness. She knew that she was going to marry Pieter, a well-off butcher, still she wanted more. She wants the ocean, but she described it as unreachable and that her life is dull and without colors.
The hopelessness of Griet and other women at the time translated to paintings we see today. Even though paintings of women and maids are beautiful, it brings out the dullness in these women’s lives. For example, Vermeer’s masterpiece, the milkmaid, depicts a maid pouring milk. Her dress is plain and she lacks facial expression. The way that women are portrayed in these paintings was a result of Dutch culture during 17th century. [Sataporn Worasilpchai]
"There was a long silence. ‘No, I expect not,’ he said. ‘But I will not paint you as a maid.’
‘What, then, sir?’
‘I will paint you as I first saw you, Griet. Just you.’” (Chevalier 179)
This quote is a section of Vermeer’s contemplation of how he should paint Griet and is rather dull, but it allows the reader to take a step into an artist’s mind. Vermeer is wondering what kind of theme he should pick for this painting. At first he considers painting Griet as a maid doing a simple taste. This would be categorized as a scene from everyday life. However, he does not find this to be satisfactory so he decides to do something else. It is obvious by looking at the finished product that the painting is a portrait. I do find this odd though because portraits are usually done for wealthy benefactors instead of a simple housemaid. So, the more likely thing that would have happened is that Vermeer’s painting is actually a tronie. A tronie is a painting of an unknown person. Another characteristic of a tronie is the ostentatious apparel. So, in reality, Vermeer did not paint Greit as he had first seen her due to the interesting headdress and the large pearl earring that she is wearing. Looking back at his quote, I believe that Chevalier’s interpretation of Vermeer is completely different, that is, Vermeer is not looking at Greit physically, but her expression and aura instead. As I have discovered when viewing the painting in person at the HIGH museum of art in Atlanta, there is a mysterious sensation that I got from experiencing this piece of art. The painting both gives so much information about the subject so little at the same time. Since the woman being the only object and nothing in the background, it forces the observer to soak in the raw her raw persona. Details otherwise missed in a crowd are magnified. That is how Vermeer first saw Griet, in other words, he noticed her to be a beautifully unique and delicate individual who so desperately wants to recognized and loved.
‘What, then, sir?’
‘I will paint you as I first saw you, Griet. Just you.’” (Chevalier 179)
This quote is a section of Vermeer’s contemplation of how he should paint Griet and is rather dull, but it allows the reader to take a step into an artist’s mind. Vermeer is wondering what kind of theme he should pick for this painting. At first he considers painting Griet as a maid doing a simple taste. This would be categorized as a scene from everyday life. However, he does not find this to be satisfactory so he decides to do something else. It is obvious by looking at the finished product that the painting is a portrait. I do find this odd though because portraits are usually done for wealthy benefactors instead of a simple housemaid. So, the more likely thing that would have happened is that Vermeer’s painting is actually a tronie. A tronie is a painting of an unknown person. Another characteristic of a tronie is the ostentatious apparel. So, in reality, Vermeer did not paint Greit as he had first seen her due to the interesting headdress and the large pearl earring that she is wearing. Looking back at his quote, I believe that Chevalier’s interpretation of Vermeer is completely different, that is, Vermeer is not looking at Greit physically, but her expression and aura instead. As I have discovered when viewing the painting in person at the HIGH museum of art in Atlanta, there is a mysterious sensation that I got from experiencing this piece of art. The painting both gives so much information about the subject so little at the same time. Since the woman being the only object and nothing in the background, it forces the observer to soak in the raw her raw persona. Details otherwise missed in a crowd are magnified. That is how Vermeer first saw Griet, in other words, he noticed her to be a beautifully unique and delicate individual who so desperately wants to recognized and loved.
“‘Now, let us begin. Chin down a bit.’ He gazed at me. ‘Lick your lips, Griet.’ I licked my lips. ‘Leave your mouth open.’ I was so surprised by this request that my mouth remained open of its own will. I blinked back tears. Virtuous women did not open their mouths in paintings…..You have ruined me, I thought. I licked my lips again.” (Chevalier p.198).
This quotation explains how Griet was feeling when Vermeer decides to use Griet as a model. He insists that she would dress up nicely with his wife’s dress and pearl earring. He requests that Griet would keep her mouth opened during entire time of painting. In Dutch culture, girls leaving mouth opened imply that there was romantic relationship between the model and the painter, or that the painter had intimate feelings towards the model. In the painting, Griet looks somewhat innocent but also somewhat seductive at the same time. Any person who hears ‘Dutch painting’, the first picture that they think of would be Girl with a Pearl Earring. One of the reasons that painting of Girl with a Pearl Earring draws much more attention than any other Dutch painting is that it contains characteristics of Dutch visual culture at the same time it breaks cultural stereotypes. Dutch drawings show consistent pattern; portraits of those with upper social standing, landscape, still life or ordinary living of lower social class. However, Girl with a Pearl Earring is the opposite of this pattern. This passage implies that the Girl, or Griet, did not have upper social status and could not afford the earring. But she is portrayed as a perfectly beautiful and mysterious girl. With only little information known to us about real Johannes Vermeer, there are lots of assumptions about who this girl is or why she is painted the way she is painted. This quotation provides a believable explanation for it. [Jung Ha Lee]
This quotation explains how Griet was feeling when Vermeer decides to use Griet as a model. He insists that she would dress up nicely with his wife’s dress and pearl earring. He requests that Griet would keep her mouth opened during entire time of painting. In Dutch culture, girls leaving mouth opened imply that there was romantic relationship between the model and the painter, or that the painter had intimate feelings towards the model. In the painting, Griet looks somewhat innocent but also somewhat seductive at the same time. Any person who hears ‘Dutch painting’, the first picture that they think of would be Girl with a Pearl Earring. One of the reasons that painting of Girl with a Pearl Earring draws much more attention than any other Dutch painting is that it contains characteristics of Dutch visual culture at the same time it breaks cultural stereotypes. Dutch drawings show consistent pattern; portraits of those with upper social standing, landscape, still life or ordinary living of lower social class. However, Girl with a Pearl Earring is the opposite of this pattern. This passage implies that the Girl, or Griet, did not have upper social status and could not afford the earring. But she is portrayed as a perfectly beautiful and mysterious girl. With only little information known to us about real Johannes Vermeer, there are lots of assumptions about who this girl is or why she is painted the way she is painted. This quotation provides a believable explanation for it. [Jung Ha Lee]
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