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The Lacemaker (Vermeer)
Encyclopedia
The Lacemaker is a painting by the Dutch artist
Johannes Vermeer
(1632–1675), completed between 1669–1670 and held in the Louvre
, Paris. The work shows a young woman dressed in a yellow shawl, holding up a pair of bobbins in her left hand as she carefully places a pin in the pillow on which she is making her bobbin lace. At 24.5 cm x 21 cm (9.6 in x 8.3 in), the work is the smallest of Vermeer's paintings, but in many ways one of his most abstract and unusual.
The girl is set against a blank wall, probably because the artist sought to eliminate any external distractions from the central image. As with his The Astronomer
(1668) and The Geographer
(1669), it is obvious that the artist undertook careful study before he executed the work; the art of lacemaking is portrayed closely and accurately. Vermeer probably used a camera obscura
while composing the work: many optical effects typical of photography can be seen, in particular the blurring of the foreground. By rendering areas of the canvas as out-of-focus, Vermeer is able to suggest depth of field
in a manner unusual of Dutch Baroque painting of the era.
In The Lacemaker, the artist presents the various elements which compose both the girl's face and body as well as the pattern of the material she is working on in an abstract manner. The girl's hands, the curls of her hair and the T-cross which form her eyes and nose are all described in an abstract manner unusual for the era in which Vermeer worked. In addition, the red and white of the lace is shown as spilling from the sewing cushion with physical properties suggesting a near liquid form. The blurring of these threads contrasts sharply with the precision of the lace she is shown working on.
Vermeer's painting is often compared to a 1662 canvas of the same name by the Dutch portrait and genre painter Caspar Netscher
. However, Vermeer's work is very different in tone. In the earlier work, both the girl's shoes and the mussel shells near her feet have sexual connotations. In addition, the discarded shoes in Netscher's painting are unlikely to be the girl's own, hinting again at a sexual overtone.
According to the art historian Lawrence Gowing
,
Dutch Golden Age painting
Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history generally spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years War for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republic was the most prosperous nation in Europe, and led European trade,...
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...
(1632–1675), completed between 1669–1670 and held in the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
, Paris. The work shows a young woman dressed in a yellow shawl, holding up a pair of bobbins in her left hand as she carefully places a pin in the pillow on which she is making her bobbin lace. At 24.5 cm x 21 cm (9.6 in x 8.3 in), the work is the smallest of Vermeer's paintings, but in many ways one of his most abstract and unusual.
The girl is set against a blank wall, probably because the artist sought to eliminate any external distractions from the central image. As with his The Astronomer
The Astronomer (painting)
The Astronomer is a painting finished about 1668 by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. It is oil on canvas, 51 cm x 45 cm , and is on display at the Louvre, Paris....
(1668) and The Geographer
The Geographer
The Geographer is a painting created by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer in 1668–1669, and is now in the collection of the Städelsches Kunstinstitut museum in Frankfurt, Germany.-Description:...
(1669), it is obvious that the artist undertook careful study before he executed the work; the art of lacemaking is portrayed closely and accurately. Vermeer probably used a camera obscura
Camera obscura
The camera obscura is an optical device that projects an image of its surroundings on a screen. It is used in drawing and for entertainment, and was one of the inventions that led to photography. The device consists of a box or room with a hole in one side...
while composing the work: many optical effects typical of photography can be seen, in particular the blurring of the foreground. By rendering areas of the canvas as out-of-focus, Vermeer is able to suggest depth of field
Depth of field
In optics, particularly as it relates to film and photography, depth of field is the distance between the nearest and farthest objects in a scene that appear acceptably sharp in an image...
in a manner unusual of Dutch Baroque painting of the era.
In The Lacemaker, the artist presents the various elements which compose both the girl's face and body as well as the pattern of the material she is working on in an abstract manner. The girl's hands, the curls of her hair and the T-cross which form her eyes and nose are all described in an abstract manner unusual for the era in which Vermeer worked. In addition, the red and white of the lace is shown as spilling from the sewing cushion with physical properties suggesting a near liquid form. The blurring of these threads contrasts sharply with the precision of the lace she is shown working on.
Caspar Netscher
Caspar Netscher was a Dutch portrait and genre painter. He was a master in depicting oriental rugs, silk and brocade and introduced an international style to the Northern Netherlands.-Life:...
. However, Vermeer's work is very different in tone. In the earlier work, both the girl's shoes and the mussel shells near her feet have sexual connotations. In addition, the discarded shoes in Netscher's painting are unlikely to be the girl's own, hinting again at a sexual overtone.
According to the art historian Lawrence Gowing
Lawrence Gowing
Sir Lawrence Gowing was a British artist, writer, curator and teacher. Initially recognized as a portrait and landscape painter, he quickly rose to prominence as an art educator, writer, and eventually, curator and museum trustee...
,
- "The achievement of Vermeer's maturity is complete. It is not open to extension: no universal style is discovered. We have never the sense of abundance that the characteristic jewels of his century gives us, the sense that the precious vein lies open, ready to be worked. There is only one 'Lacemaker': we cannot imagine another. It is a complete and single definition."
Sources
- Bonafoux, Pascal. Vermeer. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1992. ISBN 1-5682-2308-4
- Gowing, Lawrence. Vermeer. University of California Press, 1950.
- Huerta, Robert D. Giants of Delft. Bucknell University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8387-5538-0
- Huerta, Robert D. Vermeer and Plato: Painting the Ideal. Bucknell University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8387-5606-9
- Wheelock, Arthur K. Vermeer: The Complete Works. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997. ISBN 0-8109-2751-9