The Officer and the Laughing Girl by Johannes Vermeer, 1657-1659
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The Officer and the laughing Girl is related to the foregoing in lighting and technique. This time Vermeer has used the soldier, like a cone of shadow, to give depth to his interior, probably the same room as in the Lady reading a Letter. Daylight pours through the open window and falls full on the young woman, in striking contrast to the man, whose profile, alone visible, is turned away from the light. The theme is the same as in the Procuress, and the hussy's gesture is unmistakable. The soldier, probably an officer, wears a red sash over his uniform, and his big black hat is adorned with a red band. We already saw the girl's jacket in the picture just discussed.
One gets the impression that Vermeer dressed his model in a studio costume which attracted him while complying with the fashion of the day, and that he selected it chiefly for the sake of its color. The woman is not the same as in the foregoing picture, but there is not much to choose between them. Were they acquaintances, members of his family, or models that Vermeer sought out to suit his taste? The question cannot be answered. But his choice of ever recurrent young women reminds one of Renoir, who required of his models: "Pourvu que la peau ne repousse pas la lumiere."
Vermeer's viewpoint can hardly have been a sensual one; for him too the main problem was one of light and color. A happy idea that Vermeer adopted from others and exploited with the utmost refinement, is the map on the wall. Map and white-washed wall give a not too strong color contrast; a map obtrudes itself less than a framed picture; and, last but not least, a decoration of this type attenuates the otherwise too sharp reflection on the plaster wall.
If we take as our point of departure considerations of technique, such as brushwork and the application of paint, we now find two pictures totally different in content from Vermeer's earlier works. They were probably painted not much later than 1656, perhaps about 1657, as it may be assumed that he was extremely painstaking and worked very slowly. Without clinging too rigorously to dates or insisting on an order that interpolates them like an intermezzo in the series of Vermeer's genre pictures, we may ascribe these works to the years 1657-1659.
Other paintings/pictures tagged "Vermeer Courtship Scenes"
"A Lady Drinking and a Gentleman" (1658) Staatliche Museen, Berlin |
"A Lady and Two Gentlemen" (1659) Herzog Anton-Ulrich-Museum, Braunschweig |
"The Procuress" (1656) Gem‰ldegalerie, Dresden |
Popular Works by Johannes Vermeer
The Art of Painting (1665-1667) • Diana and her Companions (1655-1656) • The Allegory of the Faith (1671-1674) • Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (1654-1655)
Vermeer Music Paintings
Lady Seated at a Virginal (1673) • The Concert (1665-1666) • Young Woman Seated at the Virginals (1670) • Girl Interrupted at Her Music (1660-1661) • Woman with a Lute near a Window (1663) • Lady Standing at a Virginal (1670) • A Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman (1662-1665) • The Guitar Player (1672)
Vermeer Portraits
The Geographer (1668) • Girl with a Red Hat (1668) • A Woman Asleep at Table (1657) • Portrait of a Young Woman (1666-1667) • The Lacemaker (1669-1670) • The Astronomer (1668)
Vermeer Letter Paintings
Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid (1670) • Lady with Her Maidservant Holding a Letter (1667) • Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (1657) • The Love Letter (1667-1668) • Woman in Blue Reading a Letter (1663-1664)
Vermeer Courtship Paintings
A Lady Drinking and a Gentleman (1658) • A Lady and Two Gentlemen (1659) • The Officer and the Laughing Girl (1657-1659) • The Procuress (1656)
Vermeer Views of Delft
View of Delft (1660-1661) • The Little Street (1657-1658)
Vermeer Women at the Window
Woman with a Pearl Necklace (1662-1664)