Vermeer and Velaszuez

A detailed Summary of Vermeer and Velaszuez

Diego Velasquez and Jan Vermeer were two of the most significant artists of Western Europe's Baroque period. When I first began this research, I envisioned talking only about the many differences in their works. I have since learned that they share many things in common. In this paper I will use two works of art, Velasquez' Las Meninas (The Ladies in Waiting) and Vermeer's Woman Holding a Balance, to illustrate the complex and intriguing styles of these two masters. I will discuss how religion and politics played a role in each of the artists' lives, and how one was famous in his own time while the other was lost in obscurity until only a century ago. Although both artists are appropriately categorized as Baroque, I will argue that the lesser known Vermeer displayed more innovation and greater realism.

Diego de Silva Velasquez was born in 1599 in Seville, Spain, as a Catholic.1 Jan Vermeer was born thirty-three years later Delft, Netherlands, as a Calvinist but later converted to the Catholic religion when he married Catharina Bolnes, whose mother was Catholic. The mother had opposed this marriage until Vermeer converted.2 Further evidence of Vermeer's conversion is shown by his early work Saint Praxedis, a second

by idealism, that is, the commitment to an underlying standard of

perfection. The human body and human experience are central to

-century Roman Christian. This was based on the Florentine artist Felice Ficherelli whose painting of the same name was done in 1645.3

to waive the requirements that proof be presented of noble birth on both sides of his family.18

The painting inspired Pieter De Hoogh (=de Hooch), a fellow artist and friend of Vermeer, to paint Woman Weighing Gold in 1664. Although De Hoogh was more famous, his painting lacks the magical tranquility of Vermeer's.12 It can also be noted that some of Jan Vermeer's own works were attributed to De Hoogh, before Vermeer was rediscovered. The work Allegory of Painting is one example of this.13

...characterized by humanism...by realism, or fidelity to nature, and

Both artists studied under master painters. Velasquez, under Francisco Pacheco, was admitted to the Seville Painters Guild in 1617 and a year later married Pacheco's daughter, Juana.4 Vermeer's training is less clear. There are several possibilities given, including Hendrik ter Brugghen in Utrecht, where Vermeer's mother-in-law had family connections.5 Vermeer may have studied under another master artist, Abraham Bloemart,

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1877
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Arts