The Art of Painting
Encyclopedia
The Art of Painting, also known as The Allegory of Painting, and or Painter in his Studio, is a famous 17th century oil on canvas
painting by Dutch
painter, Johannes Vermeer
. Many art historians believe that it is an allegory
of painting, hence the alternative title of the painting. It is the largest and most complex of all of Vermeer's works.
The painting is famous for being one of Vermeer's favourites, and is also a fine example of the optical style of painting, offering a realistic visual depiction of the scene and especially the effects of light streaming through the windows on various elements of the painting.
on the wall behind.
A number of the items shown in the artist's studio are thought to be somewhat out of place. The marble tiled floor and the golden chandellier are two examples of items which would normally then be reserved for the houses of the well-to-do.
The map in the background is of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands, flanked by views of the main centres of power. It was published by Claes Jansz Visscher in 1636.
The subject is the Muse
of History
, Clio
. This is evidenced by her wearing a laurel wreath, holding a trumpet
(depicting fame), possibly carrying a book by Thucydides
, which matches the description in Cesare Ripa
's 16th century book on emblems and personifications titled Iconologia.
The double headed eagle, symbol of the Austria
n Habsburg
dynasty, former rulers of Holland, which adorns the central golden chandelier, may have represented the Catholic
faith. Vermeer was unusual in being a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant Netherlands
. The absence of candles in the chandelier might represent the suppression of the Catholic faith.
The map on the back wall has a rip that divides the Netherlands between the north and south. (West is at the top of the map, as was the custom.) The rip symbolizes the division between the Dutch Republic to the north and the Habsburg controlled Flemish
provinces to the south. The map by Claes Jansz Visscher (Nicolaum Piscatorem) shows the earlier political division between the Union of Utrecht to the north, and the colonies to the south.
Salvador Dalí
refers to "The Art of Painting" in his own surrealistic
painting The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table
(1934). On Dali's painting we can see the image of Vermeer viewed from his back re-created as a strange kind of table.
, in an attempt to avoid the sale of the painting to satisfy creditors. The executor of Vermeer's estate, the famous Delft microscopist Anton van Leeuwenhoek
, determined that the transferral of the work to the late painter's mother-in-law was illegal.
It is not known who owned the painting for most of the 18th century. It ultimately was acquired by the eminent Dutch physician Gerard van Swieten
. The painting was then inherited by Gerard's also-famous son Gottfried van Swieten
, and later passed into the hands of Gottfried's heirs. In 1813 it was purchased for 50 florins
by the Bohemia
n-Austria
n Count Czernin
. Until 1860, the painting was considered to be by Vermeer's contemporary Pieter de Hooch
; Vermeer was little known until the late 19th century. Pieter's signature was even forged on the painting. It was at the intervention of French
Vermeer scholar, Thoré Bürger and the German art historian Gustav Friedrich Waagen
that it was recognised as a Vermeer original. It was placed on public display in the Czernin Museum in Vienna
. Andrew W. Mellon
and others tried to buy the painting.
invasion of Austria, top Nazi officials including Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring
attempted to acquire the painting. It was finally acquired from its then owner, Count Jaromir Czernin by Adolf Hitler
for his personal collection at a price of 1.65 million
Reichsmark
through his agent, Hans Posse on November 20, 1940. The painting was rescued from a salt mine at the end of World War II
in 1945, where it was preserved from Allied bombing raids, with other works of art. The painting was escorted to Vienna from Munich by Andrew Ritchie, chief of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Program
(MFA&A) for Austria, who transported it by locking himself and the painting in a train compartment.
The Americans presented the painting to the Austrian Government in 1946, since the Czernin family were deemed to have sold it voluntarily, without undue force from Hitler. It is now the property of the State of Austria.
in Vienna
, Austria
, where it has been since it was acquired by the Austrian government in 1946.
Canvas
Canvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other items for which sturdiness is required. It is also popularly used by artists as a painting surface, typically stretched across a wooden frame...
painting by Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
painter, Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
. Many art historians believe that it is an allegory
Allegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
of painting, hence the alternative title of the painting. It is the largest and most complex of all of Vermeer's works.
The painting is famous for being one of Vermeer's favourites, and is also a fine example of the optical style of painting, offering a realistic visual depiction of the scene and especially the effects of light streaming through the windows on various elements of the painting.
Description
The painting depicts a painter painting a female subject in his studio, by a window, with a large map of the NetherlandsNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
on the wall behind.
Elements
The painting has only two figures, the painter and his subject. The painter is thought to be a self-portrait of the artist, though the face is not visible.A number of the items shown in the artist's studio are thought to be somewhat out of place. The marble tiled floor and the golden chandellier are two examples of items which would normally then be reserved for the houses of the well-to-do.
The map in the background is of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands, flanked by views of the main centres of power. It was published by Claes Jansz Visscher in 1636.
Symbolism and allegory
Experts attribute symbolism to various aspects of the painting.The subject is the Muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
of History
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, Clio
Clio
thumb|Clio—detail from [[The Art of Painting|The Allegory of Painting]] by [[Johannes Vermeer]]In Greek mythology, Clio or Kleio, is the muse of history. Like all the muses, she is a daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne...
. This is evidenced by her wearing a laurel wreath, holding a trumpet
Baroque trumpet
The baroque trumpet is a musical instrument in the brass family. It was invented in the mid-20th century based on ideas from the natural trumpet of the 16th to 18th centuries and designed to allow modern performers to imitate the earlier instrument for music of that time...
(depicting fame), possibly carrying a book by Thucydides
Thucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
, which matches the description in Cesare Ripa
Cesare Ripa
Cesare Ripa was an Italian aesthetician who worked for Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati as a cook and butler.Little is known about his life. He was born in Perugia and died in Rome. After the death of the cardinal, Ripa worked for his relatives...
's 16th century book on emblems and personifications titled Iconologia.
The double headed eagle, symbol of the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
dynasty, former rulers of Holland, which adorns the central golden chandelier, may have represented the Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
faith. Vermeer was unusual in being a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
. The absence of candles in the chandelier might represent the suppression of the Catholic faith.
The map on the back wall has a rip that divides the Netherlands between the north and south. (West is at the top of the map, as was the custom.) The rip symbolizes the division between the Dutch Republic to the north and the Habsburg controlled Flemish
Southern Netherlands
Southern Netherlands were a part of the Low Countries controlled by Spain , Austria and annexed by France...
provinces to the south. The map by Claes Jansz Visscher (Nicolaum Piscatorem) shows the earlier political division between the Union of Utrecht to the north, and the colonies to the south.
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
refers to "The Art of Painting" in his own surrealistic
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
painting The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table
The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table
The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table is a painting by Spanish surrealist Salvador Dalí. The title refers to the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer and the image of Vermeer viewed from his back is a reference to Vermeer's painting The Art of Painting.In this image Vermeer is...
(1934). On Dali's painting we can see the image of Vermeer viewed from his back re-created as a strange kind of table.
History
The painting is considered a work with significance for the artist because the painter himself did not part with it or sell it, even when he was in debt. In 1676, his widow Catharina bequeathed it to her mother, Maria ThinsMaria Thins
Maria Thins was the mother-in-law of Johannes Vermeer and a member of the Gouda Thins family .-Life:...
, in an attempt to avoid the sale of the painting to satisfy creditors. The executor of Vermeer's estate, the famous Delft microscopist Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Anton van Leeuwenhoek
Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek was a Dutch tradesman and scientist from Delft, Netherlands. He is commonly known as "the Father of Microbiology", and considered to be the first microbiologist...
, determined that the transferral of the work to the late painter's mother-in-law was illegal.
It is not known who owned the painting for most of the 18th century. It ultimately was acquired by the eminent Dutch physician Gerard van Swieten
Gerard van Swieten
Gerard van Swieten was a Dutch-Austrian physician.Van Swieten was born in Leiden. He was a pupil of Hermann Boerhaave and became in 1745 the personal physician of the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa. In this position he implemented a transformation of the Austrian health service and medical...
. The painting was then inherited by Gerard's also-famous son Gottfried van Swieten
Gottfried van Swieten
Gottfried, Freiherr van Swieten was a diplomat, librarian, and government official who served the Austrian Empire during the 18th century...
, and later passed into the hands of Gottfried's heirs. In 1813 it was purchased for 50 florins
Austro-Hungarian gulden
The Gulden or forint was the currency of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1754 and 1892 when it was replaced by the Krone/korona as part of the introduction of the gold standard. In Austria, the Gulden was initially divided into 60 Kreuzer, and in Hungary, the...
by the Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...
n-Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n Count Czernin
Johann Rudolf Czernin von und zu Chudenitz
Johann Rudolf Graf Czernin von und zu Chudenitz was a k. u. k. Austrian civil servant and theater director. He descended from the old Bohemian noble family Czernin von und zu Chudenitz...
. Until 1860, the painting was considered to be by Vermeer's contemporary Pieter de Hooch
Pieter de Hooch
Pieter de Hooch was a genre painter during the Dutch Golden Age. He was a contemporary of Dutch Master Jan Vermeer, with whom his work shared themes and style.-Biography:...
; Vermeer was little known until the late 19th century. Pieter's signature was even forged on the painting. It was at the intervention of French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Vermeer scholar, Thoré Bürger and the German art historian Gustav Friedrich Waagen
Gustav Friedrich Waagen
Gustav Friedrich Waagen was a German art historian.Waagen was born in Hamburg, the son of a painter and nephew of the poet Ludwig Tieck. Having passed through the college of Hirschberg, he volunteered for service in the Napoleonic campaign of 1813-1814, and on his return attended the lectures at...
that it was recognised as a Vermeer original. It was placed on public display in the Czernin Museum in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Andrew W. Mellon
Andrew W. Mellon
Andrew William Mellon was an American banker, industrialist, philanthropist, art collector and Secretary of the Treasury from March 4, 1921 until February 12, 1932.-Early life:...
and others tried to buy the painting.
Nazi interest
After the NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
invasion of Austria, top Nazi officials including Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
attempted to acquire the painting. It was finally acquired from its then owner, Count Jaromir Czernin by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
for his personal collection at a price of 1.65 million
Million
One million or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian millione , from mille, "thousand", plus the augmentative suffix -one.In scientific notation, it is written as or just 106...
Reichsmark
German reichsmark
The Reichsmark was the currency in Germany from 1924 until June 20, 1948. The Reichsmark was subdivided into 100 Reichspfennig.-History:...
through his agent, Hans Posse on November 20, 1940. The painting was rescued from a salt mine at the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in 1945, where it was preserved from Allied bombing raids, with other works of art. The painting was escorted to Vienna from Munich by Andrew Ritchie, chief of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Program
Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program
The Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program under the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied armies was established in 1943 to assist in the protection and restitution of cultural property in war areas during and following World War II...
(MFA&A) for Austria, who transported it by locking himself and the painting in a train compartment.
The Americans presented the painting to the Austrian Government in 1946, since the Czernin family were deemed to have sold it voluntarily, without undue force from Hitler. It is now the property of the State of Austria.
2009 Request for Restitution by Heirs
In August 2009 a request was submitted by the heirs of the Czernin family to Austria's culture ministry for the return of the painting. A previous request was submitted in 1960s however it was " rejected on the grounds that the sale had been voluntary and the price had been adequate." A 1998 restitution law which pertains to public institutions has bolstered the family's legal position.Location
The painting is on display at the Kunsthistorisches MuseumKunsthistorisches Museum
The Kunsthistorisches Museum is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on Ringstraße, it is crowned with an octagonal dome...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, where it has been since it was acquired by the Austrian government in 1946.