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
As Fiero says of a much earlier age, "realism enhanced the devotional mood. To see Vermeer's face, we must look at his painting, The Procuress, which depicts a brothel. It shows the Dutch general, Justin of Nassau, surrendering to Spanish general, Ambrosio Spinola. Vermeer's innovative and experimental techniques add to his greatness. Under the patronage of royalty, Velasquez had less freedom to engage in realism and experimental technique. 4 Vermeer's training is less clear. While she is weighing the pearls, the archangel Michael is weighing souls. Although Baroque art developed in some directions very different qualities from the classical tradition, in artists like these two we see important elements of that classical heritage retained. There are several possibilities given, including Hendrik ter Brugghen in Utrecht, where Vermeer's mother-in-law had family connections. Fiero describes that classical style as . 5 Vermeer may have studied under another master artist, Abraham Bloemart, also in Utrecht. This is not to take away from my admiration for the works of Velasquez. He was unique with a typically Dutch genre, resisting all the Italian, French, and Flemish influences which had effects on the work of other Dutch artists of the day. The cross must have been added later, because the original painting was dated 1656. Vermeer's early work closely matched Bloemart's style, and Bloemart was related to Catharina Bolnes, then Vermeer's future wife.
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