ISBN: 0894682199
Johannes Vermeer
ISBN: 0894682199
Johannes Vermeer
The reputation of Johannes Vermeer rests upon a relatively small number of paintings,
two-thirds of which are presented in the current exhibition, the first ever
devoted exclusively to the art of this remarkable seventeenth-century Dutch master.
Many of the themes that Vermeer chose to depict are those he encountered in daily life:
a young woman absorbed in reading a letter in the corner of a sunlit room; a girl in a
feathery red hat turned toward the viewer, her lips parted and her eyes lit with expectancy;
a view of Delft, Vermeer's birthplace and home, with its tiled roofs, church spires,
and turreted gates, under an immense sky. In such images, Vermeer found and conveyed
values and emotions of lasting concern, transforming reality and reflecting upon the timeless
aspects of the human condition. Some of his paintings also have symbolic elements
with explicit allegorical connotations. Carefully constructed and rich in meaning, his pictures
have intrigued and fascinated viewers over the centuries. We hope that those who
have seen the pictures before, individually, will find their pleasure magnified by seeing
them brought together, and that newcomers to Vermeer's art will find that the exhibition
immeasurably enriches their understanding of Dutch painting.
Copyright © 1995- Board of Trustees, National
Gallery of Art, Washington, and Royal Cabinet of
Paintings Mauritshuis, The Hague