The rise of the merchant class gave light to the Dutch Golden Age. Maybe that is how Vermeer was able to get the color Ultramarine from Afghanistan. They say the lazurite stone was worth more than gold during this era. It's quite a mystery how he could afford such a rare pigment? This must have been one of his favorite colors and is found in many others of his paintings. Especially the shadows, with tiny dots of paint to reflect light. This dance of light and dark gives this artist the name, "Master of Light"
On days that you feel like you're not good enough, let yourself gaze at upon the glimmer of hope from the Dutch Mona Lisa. At the time the Dutch had broken free from the Spanish powers and there was some religious freedom for the Protestants. Interesting that Vermeer was actually Protestant, but married into a Catholic family and had 14 children with his wife, Catalina. Now that the golden age had come, the art scene had more freedom as well and artists were able to explore different subjects outside religion.
So why are we still intrigued with this make-believe woman? Three hundred years later a beautiful story was made from this painting. Then of course a movie. The Baroque era really was an irregular pearl. Breaking out of conformity and being your own shape. Much like this tronie of a simple girl, wearing a head scarf that is out of place for the time. With just a few simple strokes for a pearl earring to add to the mystery of Who's that Girl?
Thinking about the significance of pearls reminded me of the Birth of Venus, the goddess of love from the Renaissance era. Venus is being brought to shore on a shell from the ocean by a breeze of roses and being offered the finest garments by a maiden. Venus is a reminder that we are love and perhaps Vermeer and Botticelli wanted us to know we are all unique pearls and made of love.
Works Cited
The Birth of Venus, https://www.uffizi.it/en/artworks/birth-of-venus
Girl with a Pearl Earring, https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/our-collection/our-masters/johannes-vermeer/
Who's that Girl, https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/what-s-on/exhibitions/who-is-that-girl-with-a-pearl-earring/,
3 comments:
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The logistics of dyes in this era are a whole wormhole of interesting stuff! I never thought of the significance of the blue like that. I enjoy your more literal pearl comparisons here. "Master of Light" is a very cool title. While I think it's cool that the expansion of the merchant classes in the Netherlands lead to more variety in art, and the painting we see today, I'm not sure how you meant for the Mona Lisa to be a glimmer of hope. You could also connect "Girl with the Pearl Earring" to the expansion of merchant classes by saying that even though the girl is fictional, she isn't depicted as royalty, marking the expansion of subjects of artists with more diverse funding sources.
I would be remiss to not include a copy of this piece in my personal gallery, given the chance, but I can't say that I like messy paints in the same way as you. Have fun though!
The artwork is really good when it comes to composition and it reminds me a lot of different Renaissance paintings. When it comes to more messy paintings, I find a charm to them as it makes it look like the artist's struggles and gives me more insight on how they feel. I have seen more better paintings when it comes to more calm composition, but this painting is still a good one and I can see why you've chosen it.
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