The Art of Painting, also known as The Allegory of Painting, and or Painter in his Studio, is a famous 17th century oil on canvas painting by Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer. Many art historians believe that it is an allegory of painting, hence the alternative title of the painting. It is the largest and most complex of all of Vermeer's works.
The painting is famous for being one of Vermeer's favourites, and is also a fine example of the optical style of painting, offering a realistic visual depiction of the scene and especially the effects of light streaming through the windows on various elements of the painting.
Description
The painting depicts a painter painting a female subject in his studio, by a window, with a large map of the Netherlands on the wall behind.
Elements
The painting has only two figures, the painter and his subject. The painter is thought to be a self-portrait of the artist, though the face is not visible.
A number of the items shown in the artist's studio are thought to be somewhat out of place. The marble tiled floor and the golden chandellier are two examples of items which would normally then be reserved for the houses of the well-to-do.
The map in the background is of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands, flanked by views of the main centres of power. It was published by Claes Jansz Visscher in 1636.
Symbolism and allegory
Experts attribute symbolism to various aspects of the painting.
The subject is the Muse of History, Clio. This is evidenced by her wearing a laurel wreath, holding a trumpet (depicting fame), possibly carrying a book by Thucydides, which matches the description inCesare Ripa's 16th century book on emblems and personifications titled Iconologia.
The double headed eagle, symbol of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty, former rulers of Holland, which adorns the central golden chandelier, may have represented the Catholic faith. Vermeer was unusual in being a Catholic in a predominantly Protestant Netherlands. The absence of candles in the chandelier might represent the suppression of the Catholic faith.
The map on the back wall has a rip that divides the Netherlands between the north and south. (West is at the top of the map, as was the custom.) The rip symbolizes the division between the Dutch Republic to the north and the Habsburg controlled Flemish provinces to the south. The map by Claes Jansz Visscher (Nicolaum Piscatorem) shows the earlier political division between the Union of Utrecht to the north, and the colonies to the south.
Salvador Dalí refers to "The Art of Painting" in his own surrealistic painting The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used As a Table (1934). On Dali's painting we can see the image of Vermeer viewed from his back re-created as a strange kind of table.
History
The painting is considered a work with significance for the artist because the painter himself did not part with it or sell it, even when he was in debt. In 1676, his widow Catharina bequeathed it to her mother, Maria Thins, in an attempt to avoid the sale of the painting to satisfy creditors. The executor of Vermeer's estate, the famous Delft microscopist Anton van Leeuwenhoek, determined that the transferral of the work to the late painter's mother-in-law was illegal.
It is not known who owned the painting for most of the 18th century. It ultimately was acquired by the eminent Dutch physician Gerard van Swieten. The painting was then inherited by Gerard's also-famous son Gottfried van Swieten, and later passed into the hands of Gottfried's heirs. In 1813 it was purchased for 50 florins by the Bohemian-Austrian Count Czernin. Until 1860, the painting was considered to be by Vermeer's contemporary Pieter de Hooch; Vermeer was little known until the late 19th century. Pieter's signature was even forged on the painting. It was at the intervention ofFrench Vermeer scholar, Thoré Bürger and the German art historian Gustav Friedrich Waagen that it was recognised as a Vermeer original. It was placed on public display in the Czernin Museum inVienna. Andrew W. Mellon and others tried to buy the painting.
