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Geeking out with Vermeer: Art History, Science, and Master Copying at the National Gallery of Art!

Day 1 of my Master Copy of Vermeer's Woman Holding a Balance at NGA. You can find me most Wednesdays painting in Gallery 50

Master copying is a fabulous way to learn painting techniques. It’s like getting a direct tutorial from the Old Masters themselves. As Master Copyists, we get the chance to spend countless hours with these original works – and to try to re-create them to the best of our abilities. However, we can’t get very close to the paintings (museum rules: not closer than a few feet). Moreover, many of Vermeer’s paintings are TINY – including the ones that I’m copying at the museum. We also can’t see “below the surface” to examine the layering methods he used to build up his paintings. 

That’s where direct observation is complemented by the literature from art history and science. As I hinted in my last blog, Vermeer’s paintings at the National Gallery of Art offer a unique opportunity to combine art history, science, and the practice of master copying to delve deeper into his painting processes. In other words, it’s a chance to totally geek out with Vermeer!

In this blog, I’ll document some of the many supplemental and absolutely FASCINATING reference sources that I’ll be drawing from during the course of master copying of NGA’s collection of Vermeer paintings. In subsequent blogs, I’ll detail how I use these resources for each step in the painting process. In addition to direct observation, two types of reference sources will be used

• Art Historical Sources. Although there are no direct notes or records of Vermeer’s painting techniques, many researchers have documented the practices of Dutch painters in the 17^th Amazingly, there is a treasure trove of information on Vermeer’s painting techniques, works, and more, in The Essential Vermeer website maintained for decades by Jonathan Janson, who also has an incredible book on the topic that you can purchase through the website: Looking Over Vermeer’s Shoulder: Seventeenth-Century Painting Techniques, Concepts, and Studio Practices with Particular Focus on the Work of Johannes Vermeer. I *highly* recommend both the website and the book – they are treasures for all who love Vermeer and his works! See link below.
• Science! When the museum closed during the pandemic (2020-22), researchers at NGA seized the opportunity to delve into intense scientific study of NGA’s collection of Vermeer’s paintings. This research used non-invasive methods (magnified stereomicroscope imaging, reflectance imaging spectroscopy, three-dimensional digital microscopy, chemical imaging spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence scanning) as well as micro-imaging and analysis of paint samples. This research is summarized in several articles in the Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art, Volume 14.2 (Summer 2022). Researchers at Mauritshuis, the Rijksmuseum, the National Gallery in the UK, and elsewhere have carried out similar analsyis of other works by Vermeer. See the list of sources and helpful links at the end of this blog, along with other works that will be referenced as I proceed with my master copies of Vermeer’s works at NGA. As I discover new sources, I will continue to update the bibliography in this blog.

The matrix below summarizes how some of these additional resources can be useful to understanding Vermeer’s techniques and creating a master copy (yes, I’m totally geeking out and loving it).

For example, false color infrared reflected imaging techniques allow us to see a “glimpse” of what Vermeer’s underpainting layers might have looked like for A Lady Writing (see image below). Recent scientific research suggests that Vermeer was much “looser” in his brushstrokes below the surface than on the final layer (Gifford et. al. (Summer 2022), Van Loon et. al., (2019). He also built up his lights and shadows quite distinctly in these under-layers, and employed fascinating techniques for gradually modeling the edges between forms. Stay tuned for subsequent blogs with more on those “clues” to Vermeer’s painting techniques and how I’ll be using them in my master copies at NGA!

Two images of Vermeer’s painting A Lady Writing.  Left-hand side is the high-resolution image of his final work. Right-hand side shows the False Color Infrared-Reflected Image (FC-IRR), which reveals the relatively loose nature of his underpainting layers, which contrasts with the highly-refined final layers.

How is all this useful? Drawing on art historic resources and scientific research to supplement direct observation in the process of master copying allows for a deep exploration of Vermeer’s painting processes to attempt to answer such questions as:

• What are the main phases of Vermeer’s painting process?
• How did he build up each layer?
• How did he use these layering techniques to:
  • Develop the illusion of three-dimensional forms on a two-dimensional surface (form sense);
  • Portray the interplay of light and shadow across the forms;
  • Impart such a delicate softness in his edges and the contours around the forms; and
  • Convey the overall sense of luminescent serenity that uniquely characterizes his paintings.

Next Steps & Upcoming Blogs. In coming blogs, I will expand on the many ways I use these resources in subsequent blogs for each stage of the painting process (ground, preliminary sketch, underpainting layers, final painting layers). I’ll post progress photos on each step of the process, drawing on direct observation, master copying, and the wealth of science & art history resources on Vermeer’s methods in the coming weeks & months.  Follow along to geek out with me!

Main Sources on Vermeer’s Methods (will be cited in upcoming blogs on each step of master copying process):

• Costaras, Nicolas. (1998). “A Study of the Materials and Techniques of Johannes Vermeer.” In Report and Studies in the History of Art, Vol. 55 (1998). National Gallery of Art.
• Elliott, Virgil (2019). Traditional Oil Painting: Advanced Techniques and Concepts from the Renaissance to the Present. Echo Point Books & Media.
• Gifford, E. Melanie, Dina Anchin, Alexandra Libby, Marjorie E. Wieseman, Kathryn A. Dooley, Lisha Deming Glinsman, and John K. Delaney (Summer 2022). “First Steps in Vermeer’s Creative Process: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. 14.2. Link here
• Gifford, E. Melanie. "Painting Light: Recent Observation on Vermeer's Technique." In Vermeer Studies, Edited by Ivan Gaskell and Michiel Jonker. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. 
• Gifford, E. Melanie, Kathryn A. Dooley, and John K. Delaney (2022). “Methodology & Resources: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. Volume 14.2. Link here
• Groen, Karin M., Inez D van Der Werf, Klaas Jan Van Den Berg, and Jaap J. Boon. “Scientific Examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.” In Vermeer Studies, Edited by Ivan Gaskell and Michiel Jonker. National Gallery of Art, Washington DC. 
• Janson, Jonathan. Essential Vermeer Link here
• Janson, Jonathan (2020). Looking Over Vermeer’s Shoulder: Seventeenth-Century Painting Techniques, Concepts, and Studio Practices with Particular Focus on the Work of Johannes Vermeer. Second Edition.
• Kühn, Hermann (1968). A Study of the Pigments and the Grounds Used by Jan Vermeer and Technical Appendix. In Report and Studies in the History of Art , 1968, Vol. 2 (1968). National Gallery of Art.
• Libby, Alexandra and Arthur K. Wheelock Jr., “Johannes Vermeer: A Lady Writing; c. 1665,” Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century, NGA Online Editions. Link here
• Libby, Alexandra, E. Melanie Gifford, Dina Anchin, Marjorie E. Wieseman, Kathryn A. Dooley, Lisha Deming Glinsman, and John K. Delaney (Summer 2022). Experimentation and Innovation in Vermeer’s Girl with the Red Hat: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art. Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. 14.2. Link here
• National Gallery (UK). “Vermeer & Technique.” Link here
• Stols-Witlox, Maartje (2015). “'By no means a trivial matter'. The influence of the colour of ground layers on artists' working methods and on the appearance of oil paintings, according to historical recipes from North West Europe, c. 1550-1900.” Oud Holland, Vol. 128, No. 4.
• Van Loon, Annelies, et. al. (2019). “Beauty is Skin Deep: The Skin Tones of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Heritage Science. Volume 7:102. Link here
• Vandivere, Abbie, Annelies van Loon, Kathryn A. Dooley, Ralph Haswell, Robert G Erdmann, Emilien Leonhardt, and John K. Delaney (September 2019). “Revealing the painterly technique beneath the surface of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring using macro- and microscale imaging.” Heritage Science. Link here
• Wieseman, Marjorie E., Alexandra Libby, E. Melanie Gifford, Dina Anchin (Summer 2022). “Vermeer’s Studio and the Girl with a Flute: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art.” Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. 14.2. Link here