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
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Washington DC, French Flemish, Las Meninas, Philip IV, Holding Balance, Velasquez Velasquez, Velasquez Vermeer, Painting Vermeers, Andre Malraux, Meninas Velasquez, las meninas, jan vermeer, king philip, de hoogh, christ house martha, van meegeren, holding balance, woman holding, utrecht vermeers, woman holding balance, jan vermeers, king philip iv, velasquez vermeer, house martha mary, velasquez las meninas,
Approximate Word count = 1877
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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