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Bucket List Opportunity: Master Copying Vermeer at the National Gallery of Art!

Another item on my bucket list!!! As many of you know, I’ve been working on a master copy of Titian’s Venus with a Mirror at the National Gallery of Art for, like, the past … 4 years! I’m making steady progress but was interrupted by the pandemic, and now again for the next few months due to renovations at NGA. 

Well, as they say, when one door closes, others open! In this case, the new door has opened in Gallery 50, which now houses NGA’s collection of paintings by Vermeer! In the past, copyists weren’t allowed to do master copies of Vermeer paintings because they were housed in a tiny gallery which didn’t have enough space for us to set up and store our easels. However, … breaking news! When NGA’s collection of Vermeer paintings returned from the biggie exhibit at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, they put them in a larger gallery. As such, for the first time, we can do master copies of Vermeer paintings at NGA! 

This really feels like divine intervention as I’ve been wanting to do master copies of Vermeer’s paintings like FO-EVAH. I had just returned from seeing the near-complete collection of Vermeer’s works at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam when this bucket-list opportunity arose! YAYESSSSSSS!!!!!!

Me with my entry ticket for the near-comprehensive exhibition
of Vermeer’s paintings at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, June 2023

As such, if all goes well, over the next few months, I’ll be doing two master copies of NGA’s Vermeer paintings:

1. Woman Holding a Balance. This painting is among those Vermeer painted in his middle years and features his characteristic light from an upper left window, with a woman deep in a moment of serene contemplation. She is holding a scale in perfect equilibrium and stands in front of a painting of the Last Judgement, suggesting she is weighing decisions of life and faith. You can find more information about, and high-resolution images of this painting, at NGA’s website, see link here.
2. A Lady Writing. In parallel, I’ll also be practicing a study copy of Vermeer’s
   A Lady Writing with my close friend Lillian at her house in Maryland. She’s 94 and a fierce painter but doesn’t have the chance to come do master copies in person at NGA. As such, we enjoy doing study copies together in parallel to my copies at the museum (as we have been doing with Titian). I may also do a copy of A Lady Writing in person at NGA in the future. It’s a beautiful painting, again with the characteristic light coming from the upper left, this time illuminating a woman writing with a feather pen, glancing up to engage the viewer. You can find more information about, and high-resolution images of this painting, at NGA’s website, see link here.

Two paintings by Johannes Vermeer: Woman Holding a Balance, circa 1664; and A Lady Writing, circa 1665. The National Gallery of Art, Gallery 50.

Unique Opportunity: Art History x Science x Master Copying!  Master copying Vermeer’s paintings at the National Gallery of Art offers a unique opportunity to combine art history, science, and the practice of master copying to delve deeper into Vermeer’s painting processes. This is because Vermeer’s works have been the subject of deep study by artists, art historians, and scientists - including recent imaging and analysis by NGA researchers during the pandemic! See my next blog for more on this topic and stay tuned for a full blog series on my research and master copying process at the National Gallery of Art!

For More Information on the Copyist Program at NGA:

• See my earlier blog on master copying at NGA here: Painting in the Museum!
• See the official link for the NGA Copyist Program here

My painting set up for master copying in Gallery 50 at the National Gallery of Art (preliminary sketch of Vermeer's Woman Holding a Balance)