The Tranquil World of Vermeer #JohannesVermeerExhibition

I had never actually gotten so close to Vermeer's world until I witnessed most of his works through his current exhibition at Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. I have always been a fan of The Milkmaid's impressive details yet never did I know that he had served immeasurably more to us admire. 

When I encountered The Little Street painting, the first thing that came to my mind is how unique the angle it has. During that period (17th century), I believe painting an incomplete or close-up and cut subject was not a popular technique to be used, let alone painting a scene where it gives a space for depth to be pretty much the center of attention. 



The more I dive deeper into his paintings, the more I am able to see a pattern of letting in the outside world at an inside world. Through open doors just like on The Little Street or like on this very exquisite Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window. It might not be the only gesture that 'invites' us all in, but there are as well elements that oftentimes appear in his works like letters, visitors, to paintings painted on the wall.



Did she just receive a love letter being brought inside by her maid? The 'painting in painting' could maybe give us 'the hints'. Does the sailing painting behind her represent the idea of distance love? or as much as the conception of music (depicted through the musical instrument she held) in the 17th century has the power to elevate the soul and so does love. Well, we can all just guess. 



I am a lover of Rembrandt's dynamic paintings but also a lover of Vermeer's serenity he mostly reflected in his later works. Probably my favorite painting of him would be The Lacemaker. Coupled with irresistible details, this painting of a girl doing lacework in a very serious yet calm way, allows me to feel such a tranquil atmosphere by just looking at it. 



Besides all this, his paintings are to me very symbolic. Some of his religious-themed works do circle also around inner values. And through his tronies, he was experimenting with common elements in uncommon portrayals of that time, which seem to be his idealized world. Yet, they are all so full of overflowing stories. 

Never ceases to impress me, he extended eroticism in a subtle and subdued way. Leaving an impression that he was already ahead of the others at that time. I'd gladly say that Vermeer is to me a creative rebel at heart and of course a timeless classic-contemporary master painter we all love. 

His paintings present a lovely blend of fantasy and adjusted reality, making the exhibition incredibly joyous to experience since;

It captures what cannot be captured

 

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