Vermeer of Delft - How to Appreciate the Real Paintings in Museums All Over the World

Vermeer painted in a slow and careful way, producing about two paintings in one full year. Worldwide there are only about 36 paintings by Johannes Vermeer of Delft.

Some people have fallen in love with the magic and radiation of Vermeer paintings and have decided to travel the whole world, from Boston to Dresden and from Dublin to Washington DC, crisscrossing the earth. Arguably the best ones are on show in Vienna, Amsterdam and The Hague. This kind of mesmerized fan tour and pilgrimage is quite feasible as virtually all paintings are now located in public collections and can be seen during opening times after purchasing the entrance ticket.

Do you recognize a work from his youthful style, when Vermeer was around twenty in 1653? Or is it in fact a late work like the one in Dublin?

Standing in front of a real Vermeer painting... what do you actually see and what do you fully appreciate? Do you see the technical wizardry in the way he used paint, in layer upon layer of glazes, with light bouncing between these layers? Did he use wet-in-wet, of wet-on-dry on a given part of the painting?

What can be recognized within the picture, what is the story, the psychology and which physical objects can be distinguished? What is the level of reality? How does this "photographic reality" relate to his list of private goods, which he left after his death in 1675? Many viewers have the idea that what Vermeer shows us are views of his own private home with marble floors and all. In fact, what he sometimes does is painting fancy rooms, upgrading the interior by filling it with luxury items not belonging to him: musical instruments, architectural details...

And what about he meaning of objects and scenes, according what we think now and according to available knowledge from current books from his day and age... what would the meaning be of the scenes depicted by Vermeer according to those contemporary sources?

Do you actually recognize the fullness of artistic choices and visual tricks he put in it to elevate a painting into a work of great art?

If you do, viewing can become a thrill of a lifetime.

If you find you are slightly lacking in all that, you may immerse yourself in serious art books and come up for air after two months of reading. You may also read the novel Girl with the Pearl Earring and not know how many factual misconceptions it contains. Alternatively you may click widely on Internet and see what you get in terms of knowledge, information, fancy theories and misinformation.

Finally you can request a specialist to stand next to you and see what knowledge and passion may yield. In order to really "get it", it may take a specialist to learn how to fully see and appreciate. I am that kind of art historian.

http://kalden.home.xs4all.nl/

Biography.

Art historian Drs. Kees Kaldenbach has published widely and has designed a major 2000+ item web site on the art of Johannes Vermeer and other Delft artists.

He has a great capacity to share with others his deep passion for art history while sharing ways of heightened perception. Let's go to museums together!

http://kalden.home.xs4all.nl/

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Rembrandt, Prince of Painters, Prince of Etchers - Face to Face With the Real Thing in Museums

Rembrandt arguably is among the 10 most gifted artist-painters in world history and he may arguably be the most accomplished and very best of etchers and engravers who ever lived, worldwide. In any country or period.

Nothing beats standing face to face and viewing the real thing. Amsterdam is a fine place to do so because here we have the Rijksmuseum (State museum of art) and the Rembrandt House, the place where he actually lived and worked for many years. Although leafing through illustrations in art books and images on the Internet are fabulous for study purposes, and indispensable in order to learn how to distinguish and compare, understand and classify, there is one experience paramount. Standing face to face with an actual painting by Rembrandt or an actual etching by Rembrandt may become a thrilling and moving event.

The Rijksmuseum is the prime place for viewing paintings in Holland, although the museums in The Hague (Mauritshuis) and Rotterdam (Boijmans) are a good alternative.

The paint surface: is it shiny and glassy-translucent like a Russian lacquer box (this is the successful style he invented and taught, called fijnschilderkunst or fine painting) or is it as rough and unkempt like bricklaying mortar? Did he succeed in combining both techniques within one and the same painting, like in the stunning Prophet Jeremiah lamenting the sacking of the temple in the Rijksmuseum. Did he only use the fine style in the beginning of his career, and the rough style only later on, or did he move to and fro with those techniques throughout his life?

And what is the psychological wizardry and soul-searching he employes, even at a young age, as a young man of barely 22 or 24? What did Rembrandt write on that subject...? In a letter to Constantijn Huygens, the art lover and Secretary of State, Rembrandt used the term 'naetuereelste beweechgelikheijt'; would a translation in 'Most natural movement' be called for or are there other options for translation? If so, what does this imply?

Rembrandt House

And then over to the Rembrandthuis. the house in which he lived with Saskia and in which his children were born. The interior has been re-constituted based on the inventory list of his bankruptcy. It feels like walking into his studio and sale rooms, as if the great master has just walked out on doing some business and left you there to roam about on your own. On the top floor one can stand face to face with a good series of the actual etchings. What sets Rembrandt apart from other artists like Duerer, Lucas van Leiden, Elsheimer? How fine or bold are Rembrandts results in the etching and engraving lines? Learn how to see and appreciate how he employed these fine or bold lines in the etching and engraving in order to get the 'Most natural movement'?

A bit of social history and the personal history will also serve to put Rembrandt in perspective. Was he really a cantankerous SOB who alienated the wealthy patrons after 1642, the year of the Nightwatch?

I will be there to assist you in viewing and I will help you to hone your own way of seeing. Art appreciation in front of the real thing.

http://kalden.home.xs4all.nl/verm/rembr_lecturesENG.html

Art historian Drs. Kees Kaldenbach has published widely and has a great capacity to share with others his deep passion for art history while sharing ways of heightened perception. He can meet you in museums in Holland to hone your vision and enjoyment.

http://kalden.home.xs4all.nl/

View the original article here