Traces of Vermeer

Jane Jelley

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English

Oxford University Press
10 January 2019

Art & design styles: Baroque; Painting & paintings; Individual artists, art monographs

Johannes Vermeer's luminous paintings are loved and admired around the world, yet we do not understand how they were made. We see sunlit spaces; the glimmer of satin, silver, and linen; we see the softness of a hand on a lute string or letter. We recognise the distilled impression of a moment of time; and we feel it to be real.

We might hope for some answers from the experts, but they are confounded too. Even with the modern technology available, they do not know why there is no evidence of any preliminary drawing; why there are shifts in focus; and why his pictures are unusually blurred. Some wonder if he might possibly have used a camera obscura to capture what he saw before him. The few traces Vermeer has left behind tell us little: there are no letters or diaries; and no reports of him at work.

Jane Jelley has taken a new path in this detective story. A painter herself, she has worked with the materials of his time: the cochineal insect and lapis lazuli; the sheep bones, soot, earth, and rust. She shows us how painters made their pictures layer by layer; she investigates old secrets; and hears travellers' tales. She explores how Vermeer could have used a lens in the creation of his masterpieces. The clues were there all along. After all this time, now we can unlock the studio door, and catch a glimpse of Vermeer inside, painting light.

By: Jane Jelley
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 216mm, Width: 147mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 512g
ISBN: 9780198789734
ISBN 10: 0198789734
Pages: 368
Publication Date: 10 January 2019
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

Map of Central Delft in 1675 Chronology of Vermeer's Paintings Prelude1. A Painter at Home2. Colours of Delft3. Substance and Supports4. Working in the Studio5. Layers and Layers6. Through the Lens7. A Glimpse of Vermeer8. The Brightness of Day9. Into the Dark10. Printed LightCodaNotes Suppliers of Materials Bibliography Picture Credits Index

Jane Jelley is a painter, specializing in still life and landscape, who became intrigued by the unusual qualities of Vermeer's pictures, and the lively arguments about whether he used a camera obscura. Familiar with traditional materials, Jane decided to find out for herself whether there was a practical way to transfer an images from a lens to a canvas, and she published a paper about her experiments in 2013. Jane lives and works in Oxford.

Reviews for Traces of Vermeer

Jane Jelley adds a unique perspective on Vermeer's techniques and style. * Johan Wagemans, University of Leuven * Featuring wonderful illustrations, engaging prose, and a deep knowledge of the craft, this is a study in art history and methodology to delight an audience beyond just visual artists. * Kirkus, Starred Review * An absolute delight. A rich and highly original exploration of Vermeer's life and work seen through the eyes of a practising painter. * Professor Sir Barry Cunliffe * A fascinating approach that throws up a plethora of intriguing details that add to the texture of Vermeer's life and technique... Jelley's ingenious experiment offer[s] a plausible suggestion as to how he set about his magical paintings. * Michael Prodger, Sunday Times * Sensational... revelatory and wholly convincing. * Simon Jenkins, Guardian * Magnificent. * Anna Maria Polidori, Al Femminile * In this overtly investigative yet very readable book [Jane Jelley] bequeaths the reader with an inexorable intrigue that is altogether contagious. * David Marx, David Marx Book Reviews * Along the way... Jelley infuses her descriptions of Vermeer's world with a vivid immediacy, taking readers into the hustle and bustle of market day in Delft... It quickly becomes an immersive reading experience, like an excellent historical novel with 62 pages of fine-type end notes attached to help with further inquiries. * Simon Donoghue, Christian Science * Fascinating. Jelley brings a vast knowledge, and, more importantly, practice, of traditional painting techniques... she proposes a novel suggestion as to how exactly Vermeer could have used a camera obscura... A boon to both scholars and casual art appreciators. * Politics and Prose, Washington DC * The exquisitely luminous paintings of Johannes Vermeer have long stirred debate over whether the seventeenth-century Dutch master used optical aids. Artist Jane Jelley probed the issue pragmatically. * Barbara Kiser, Nature * Well-researched... vivid... fascinating. * Lynn Roberts, Tablet * This is not another speculative Vermeer biography, a fill-in-the-gaps, guesswork life. This is Vermeer the painter, by a painter.... Jelley's meticulous approach yields fascinating insights. * Laura Freeman, Literary Review *