The painter Gabriel Metsu comes to mind- the illusions he painted were meant to be shown to trick an audience. Common in 17th century Dutch households, these illusion paintings boast a reference to the stories from antiquity about paintings tricking the viewer. This painting convention is what Vermeer surpassed; where these paintings trick the viewer into thinking they are in real space, Vermeer draws his audience in, making them think they complete his composition.
Gabriel Metsu 1
Still Life with a Dead Rooster, c. 1655-1658
oil on panel
unframed: 57 x 39.8 cm (22 7/16 x 15 3/4 in.)
Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid
This Still Life shows a dead and lifeless rooster, once magnificent, now hanging limp. The reference to mortality is an obvious one, showcasing the fate of everyone and everything: death. Although the mortality reference is the first thing that comes to a modern analyst, when it was painted, it would probably have been showcased as an illusion to the viewer.
Another example of an illusion painting is this one from the NGA.
Willem van Aelst 2
Still Life with Dead Game, 1661
Pepita Milmore Memorial Fund
1982.36.1
This painting, like the Metsu, references mortality directly. These animals, once spry and full of life, now hang, lifeless, from the top of the painting. The once bright colors, the formerly rich furs are now for consumption. Taunting the viewer, the proclaim the fate of all living things.
Also like the Metsu, this game painting could have been hung in a dark interior so that the owner could trick friends, tipsy friends, into thinking that the animals hang from his walls, rather than on the canvas. Interestingly enough, the convention of painting such a scene influences artists still. Australian born, German schooled Marian Drew sets up still lives like these and photographs them, focusing on how they reinterpret Dutch paintings from the 17th century.
Kitchen View with Mask 3
Understanding how art directly influences other art hundreds of years later is always an interesting thing. A spark from the original style just hits a modern artist. This particular example is interesting because it shows that 17th century Dutch paintings are very relevant, and their meanings can be surprisingly modern. Humans will always have fears about their mortality, they will always cry and get angry. Humans will always want to speak to their loved ones, and have a quiet moment by themselves. That is where this relates to Vermeer. Modern audiences will always love Vermeer's works because it speaks to the humanness of being human. It elevates the droning tasks we do, and it is enchanting. A Lady Writing will always only be a woman writing by herself, just glancing at the viewer, but it will also always be a moment that many people can look at and recognize as being something they do, or something they have done. According to author Michael Kimmelman "...Vermeer eternalized moments that we all live, the ones when nothing much is happening, and gave them an almost mystical gravity.4" The relevancy of these Dutch paintings is surprising and amazing- they can up stand hundreds of years of technology changes and social conventions changing and still strike a modern viewer as familiar.
1Home - Marian Drew. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://mariandrew.com.au/index.php?mact=Album,m4,default,1>.
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| Pelican with Turnips |
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| Crow with Salt |
Kitchen View with Mask 3
Understanding how art directly influences other art hundreds of years later is always an interesting thing. A spark from the original style just hits a modern artist. This particular example is interesting because it shows that 17th century Dutch paintings are very relevant, and their meanings can be surprisingly modern. Humans will always have fears about their mortality, they will always cry and get angry. Humans will always want to speak to their loved ones, and have a quiet moment by themselves. That is where this relates to Vermeer. Modern audiences will always love Vermeer's works because it speaks to the humanness of being human. It elevates the droning tasks we do, and it is enchanting. A Lady Writing will always only be a woman writing by herself, just glancing at the viewer, but it will also always be a moment that many people can look at and recognize as being something they do, or something they have done. According to author Michael Kimmelman "...Vermeer eternalized moments that we all live, the ones when nothing much is happening, and gave them an almost mystical gravity.4" The relevancy of these Dutch paintings is surprising and amazing- they can up stand hundreds of years of technology changes and social conventions changing and still strike a modern viewer as familiar.
1Home - Marian Drew. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://mariandrew.com.au/index.php?mact=Album,m4,default,1>.
2"National Gallery Gabriel Metsu, 1629-1667." National Gallery of Art. NAtional Gallery of Art, 18 Apr. 2011. Web. 7 May 2011. <http://www.nga.gov/press/exh/3116/3116_list.pdf>.
*3"Dead Rooster Giclee Print by Gabriel Metsu at Art.com." Art.com - Posters, Art Prints, and Framed Art Leader. Web. 07 May 2011. <http://www.art.com/products/p15268674-sa-i3630758/gabriel-metsu-dead-rooster.htm>.
"Still Life with Dead Game." National Gallery of Art. Web. 07 May 2011. <http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg47/gg47-61174.html>.
4Kimmelman, Michael. "Jan Vermeer." The New York Times. 4 May 2009. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/v/jan_vermeer/index.html>.
*Note: I apologize for the image quality and the source! Some of the Metsu paintings are hard to get ahold of.
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