Bibliograph

Traces of Vermeer, Jane Jelley

Type

Label

Traces of Vermeer, Jane Jelley

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages 297-318) and index

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

Traces of Vermeer

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

980434598

Responsibility statement

Jane Jelley

Summary

Johannes Vermeer's luminous paintings are loved and admired around the world, yet we do not understand how they were made. We see sunlit spaces; the glimmer of satin, silver, and linen; we see the softness of a hand on a lute string or letter. We recognise the distilled impression of a moment of time; and we feel it to be real. We might hope for some answers from the experts, but they are confounded too. Even with the modern technology available, they do not know why there is no evidence of any preliminary drawing; why there are shifts in focus; and why his pictures are unusually blurred. Some wonder if he might possibly have used a camera obscura to capture what he saw before him. The few traces Vermeer has left behind tell us little: there are no letters or diaries; and no reports of him at work

Classification