Vermeer of Delft: Complete edition of the paintings

by Albert Blankert

Physical description; 176 pages : illustrations (some color), portraits ; 29 cm. Subjects; Vermeer, Johannes 1632-1675. Artists — Netherlands. Painting, Dutch — 17th century.

Genres: Art

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1975

Reviews

[José Van Rosmalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johannes (Jan) Vermeer uit Delft leefde van 1632 tot 1675, in het midden van de Gouden Eeuw, een hoogtepunt in de Hollandse schilderkunst. Hij maakte veel minder schilderijen dan bijvoorbeeld Rembrandt die er wel 20 keer zoveel maakte, maar hij nam er dan ook de tijd voor. Hij concentreerde. zich rustig op elk schilderij dat hij maakte en deed daar dan vele maanden over. Hij specialiseerde zich in het schilderen van interieurs met vaak een jonge vrouw, zoals het meisje met de parel of het melkmeisje. Ook beroemd is zijn gezicht op Delft. Vermeer wordt nu gerekend tot de belangrijkste schilders van de zeventiende eeuw. In het boek met afbeeldingen worden al zijn nu bekende schilderijen besproken. Hij was al bekend in zijn eigen tijd, maar vanaf de negentiende eeuw nam zijn roem toe. Van zijn privéleven komen we niet heel veel te weten, hij had veel kinderen en hij had in de laatste jaren financiële tegenslag. In 1672, drie jaar voor zijn dood, was het zogeheten rampjaar.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The English title is "Vermeer Of Delft" is another of the early biographical art books surrounding the subject of Johannes Vermeer. Despite the 206 pages listed, it is relatively short, with text only taking up about 1/3 of the entire book. Blankert splits topics into 2 sections: Vermeer's life and his surviving works. Obviously, the biographical section is only a handful of pages, the man lives up to his title of "Sphinx of Delft"! Though, because this is an early piece on him, it is surprising to note how the author proposes more information will surface about him later on. The real interesting part is how Blankert analyzes Vermeer's art style, namely by comparing them to his contemporaries such as Fabritius, de Hooch, ter Borch, etc. He goes to speak that Vermeer is not a trend setter nor is he an innovator in Dutch art, rather he follows the trends of society and even appropriates/mimic his peers own style. But in doing so, he perfects on the flaws that his contemporaries couldn't escape, and that is balancing between light and objects while also presenting smooth, yet life-like faces in his portraits.

These comparisons are helped by the author having Vermeer's peers' works referenced within the book, it would be more effective if Vermeer's work were placed side by side with theirs' to see a clearer comparison. At times, the analysis comes off more bias towards Vermeer, it's informative in presenting how the timeline of Dutch art changes throughout the 17th century, but also how it's so apparent that Vermeer is considered to be on par with the other masters. It even brings up the small acclaim he even had in the following centuries before widespread attention to finding his lost art became a big deal as well. Wide scans of the paintings are also very beautiful to look out, including some more up close shots added in the reference sections, allowing us to see the strokes and tiny details Vermeer left behind. Additionally, there is a notes section at the end that shows the author's footnotes and translations from a 1696 auction of Vermeer's catalogue that shows the research he put into making this while allowing us a detailed look into how others view his works.

Overall, this book doesn't anything too new to learning about Vermeer, but if you would like a comparison between his works and other Dutch Masters of the period, it is quite suitable.