Analysis Two, Baroque, Johannes Vermeer, The Astronomer
Anastasia Gvozdeva, 411164
History of Arts and Culture, 15.09.2014
Analysis 2, Baroque, Johannes Vermeer, The Astronomer, Musée du Louvre, Paris, c. 1668
Ordinary life of a Dutch scientist
The Astronomer is a famous artwork made by Johannes Vermeer in 1668. It is painted on canvas with size of 40x50 cm and situated now in Louvre, Paris. It was made together with The Geographer, another work with a scientist as a main protagonist. These two works are special for the master’s oeuvre because usually Vermeer tended to make women’s portraits. On the canvas see a man bending to a celestial globe, he seems very interested in the subject of his study. There is a book in front of him, considered to be a work of Adriaen Metius, On the Investigation …show more content…
The main protagonist is not just a scientist but a deep thinker, the cult of knowledge and passion for exploring the world is still in the air. But we see a big difference: now it is a part of everyday life. We don’t see a wealthy patron in an official setting, there is just a simple scientist sitting in his room totally absorbed in astronomic studies. This is a painting about science and it may even be propaganda to some degree because any kind of science was respected and supported that time. In addition, we don’t see classical equipment of an astronomer such as, for example, telescope, so this is more a symbolic painting of a scholar. We also remark the development of naturalism, especially in Northern countries where it wasn’t so common before. Here we see the typical for Vermeer light, coming from aside and showing every textural nuance. It’s not marking the main character or helping to show particular emotions of him. This is just light, the one we capture coming from window every day. Beauty of simple life is what inspired the
History of Arts and Culture, 15.09.2014
Analysis 2, Baroque, Johannes Vermeer, The Astronomer, Musée du Louvre, Paris, c. 1668
Ordinary life of a Dutch scientist
The Astronomer is a famous artwork made by Johannes Vermeer in 1668. It is painted on canvas with size of 40x50 cm and situated now in Louvre, Paris. It was made together with The Geographer, another work with a scientist as a main protagonist. These two works are special for the master’s oeuvre because usually Vermeer tended to make women’s portraits. On the canvas see a man bending to a celestial globe, he seems very interested in the subject of his study. There is a book in front of him, considered to be a work of Adriaen Metius, On the Investigation …show more content…
The main protagonist is not just a scientist but a deep thinker, the cult of knowledge and passion for exploring the world is still in the air. But we see a big difference: now it is a part of everyday life. We don’t see a wealthy patron in an official setting, there is just a simple scientist sitting in his room totally absorbed in astronomic studies. This is a painting about science and it may even be propaganda to some degree because any kind of science was respected and supported that time. In addition, we don’t see classical equipment of an astronomer such as, for example, telescope, so this is more a symbolic painting of a scholar. We also remark the development of naturalism, especially in Northern countries where it wasn’t so common before. Here we see the typical for Vermeer light, coming from aside and showing every textural nuance. It’s not marking the main character or helping to show particular emotions of him. This is just light, the one we capture coming from window every day. Beauty of simple life is what inspired the