Jan Vermeer: The Master of Simplicity

Jan Vermeer was a well known artist of the Baroque Period from the 17th century. He was born in 1632 in Delft, Netherlands. His most famous accomplishments are his depictions of the normal lives of everyday people. He mastered the use of light and shadow to paint simple images such as the Milkmaid, which shows a regular woman pouring milk. He also painted The Girl with the Wineglass, which shows that he was well aware of perspective. Again, he portrayed a simple event (a girl drinking wine). This is the aspect that really drew me into his paintings. Instead of painting big extravagant pieces, especially about religion that others did in the past, I like how he preferred to portray the normal life of a person. Moreover, what I found unique about many of his paintings was his use of materials. He used ultramarine a lot which was very expensive during his time. Unfortunately, Vermeer was not really famous at his time. His work was overlooked by the work of other painters and he was subjected to critiques. It was only after he died that art historians started to appreciate his work. I find that this is pretty sad. I’ve read about a lot of people who were never appreciated during their lifetime and only acknowledged after their death. I feel like Vermeer would have been happier and produced even better work had he been recognized during his time. As much as we would like to say that one should enjoy painting even if there is no audience, the truth is that people love to be recognized and rewarded for their work. It is what motivates them to do even better. 

Research Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Girl_with_the_Wine_Glass

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Vermeer#Painting_materials

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Johannes-Vermeer