Vermeer Was a Photographer

A master of perspective, light and storytelling

Photograph by Author, at Vermeer exhibition, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Frances and I went to the Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, a sold out event that has drawn large crowds. I would not have written about it (I am not very knowledgeable about art), had Michelle Teheux not suggested it.

She will be pleased to hear that more than 80% of the visitors had grey hair.

I’m Watching One of My Life-long Dreams Pass Me By

27 Paintings

One of Vermeer’s most popular works, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, had already been taken out of the exhibition in April to return to its place at the Mauritshuis in The Hague in time for the tourist season. Although I have seen this painting in the Mauritshuis before (it is very beautiful), this was still mildly disappointing.

Vermeer has only painted around 37 paintings in his lifetime and 27 were on display, so despite the crowds we were out in under an hour. It was very busy, but we got to see all the paintings up close.

I believe Vermeer was a photographer

It is now generally accepted that one of the tools Vermeer used to help him get accurate perspective was a camera obscura. He also used to put a pin in his painting to get a consistent vanishing point. The hole can still be seen in his painting The Milkmaid, according to the explanation on the exhibition walls (I could not see it, but you can see it on the hi-res pictures).

Regardless of the use of optic tools, what makes him a photographer in my eyes is the scenes he chooses, the light he uses and captures and the story he tells.

He keeps telling the same story

There is a young woman inside a house. She is engaged in what she is doing: playing an instrument, reading, sewing or cooking. Bright light streams in from a window (her right, our left). Behind her is a large…