Jan Sluijter's Vermeer, Fame, And Female Beauty
In the article "Vermeer, Fame, and Female Beauty: The Art of Painting," Eric Jan Sluijter claims the predominant interpretation of the work puts "many scholars on the wrong track," (Sluijter, 265). Instead, he proposes Vermeer was focused on fame, rather than history. Sluijter supports this argument by providing historical context and comparisons.
Art of Painting was painted by Johannes Vermeer from 1666-1667 in Delft, Netherlands. This work follows the Dutch tradition of close observation of the natural world and interior scenes. However, this painting is a bit of an anomaly in Vermeer's work because of its large scale and use of allegorical symbols. These attributes are more characteristic of his earlier work, yet this painting has more …show more content…
Scholars identified the woman as having attributes of the muse, Clio. These attributes include the laurel wreath on the model's head and the trumpet. Sluijter focuses on Clio as the muse of fame, honor, and glory, while most scholars say she is the muse of history. Using this definition, Sluijter interprets Clio as proof of Vermeer's belief that painting brings honor and fame. This differs from other interpretations that Art of Painting is evidence of paintings duty to record history. A history-centered interpretation lends itself to reinforce the hierarchy of painting genres, with history painting at the top. If this was truly Vermeer's belief, one would see more history paintings in his body of work opposed to the genre paintings that compose most of his oeuvre. Sluijter uses this quote from Adriaen van de Venne to support his conclusion, "Art creates Fame and Fame proclaims her glory," …show more content…
One of the most compelling pieces of evidence used by Sluijter was the comparison between the Art of Painting and the Allegorical Portrait of an Artist (Rachel Ruysch) by Michiel van Musscher. These two works have no similarities visually: there are different styles, different scales, and different compositions. However, these works are thematically similar in that they both depict the artist and their art. Here, Ruysch is being crowned with the laurel wreath, connecting the artist to the muse Clio. This comparison strengthens Sluijter's argument that fame and honor is the correct interpretation of Art of Painting by showing the attributes of Clio in a context of an artist and not in a setting of
Art of Painting was painted by Johannes Vermeer from 1666-1667 in Delft, Netherlands. This work follows the Dutch tradition of close observation of the natural world and interior scenes. However, this painting is a bit of an anomaly in Vermeer's work because of its large scale and use of allegorical symbols. These attributes are more characteristic of his earlier work, yet this painting has more …show more content…
Scholars identified the woman as having attributes of the muse, Clio. These attributes include the laurel wreath on the model's head and the trumpet. Sluijter focuses on Clio as the muse of fame, honor, and glory, while most scholars say she is the muse of history. Using this definition, Sluijter interprets Clio as proof of Vermeer's belief that painting brings honor and fame. This differs from other interpretations that Art of Painting is evidence of paintings duty to record history. A history-centered interpretation lends itself to reinforce the hierarchy of painting genres, with history painting at the top. If this was truly Vermeer's belief, one would see more history paintings in his body of work opposed to the genre paintings that compose most of his oeuvre. Sluijter uses this quote from Adriaen van de Venne to support his conclusion, "Art creates Fame and Fame proclaims her glory," …show more content…
One of the most compelling pieces of evidence used by Sluijter was the comparison between the Art of Painting and the Allegorical Portrait of an Artist (Rachel Ruysch) by Michiel van Musscher. These two works have no similarities visually: there are different styles, different scales, and different compositions. However, these works are thematically similar in that they both depict the artist and their art. Here, Ruysch is being crowned with the laurel wreath, connecting the artist to the muse Clio. This comparison strengthens Sluijter's argument that fame and honor is the correct interpretation of Art of Painting by showing the attributes of Clio in a context of an artist and not in a setting of