I really dig this The Art of Painting painting by Johannes Vermeer. He did this back in the 17th Century. I honestly don’t know a lot about Vermeer and I was not familiar with this one. He’s got a rather recognizable style, but the only one I can be totally sure is his, is The Girl with the Pearl Earring.

I think this one is FABULOUS, though. We get a true glimpse into his studio. It is thought to be a self-portrait of him painting his daughter. I can’t help but marvel at Vermeer’s almost photo-realist painting. [Check out this detail of his hair…i mean, he PAINTED that] and his use of perspective literally takes my breath away.

The Art of Painting has had a very interesting life. Vermeer never sold it, even when he was heavily in debt. It would eventually end up in Adolf Hitler’s possession when he purchased it in 1940 for the Linzer Museum. Later it would be rescued from a salt mine near Altaussee at the end of World War II in 1945, where it was preserved from Allied bombing raids, with other works of art. It was escorted to Vienna from Munich by Andrew Ritchie, leader of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program (MFA&A) for Austria, who transported it by locking himself and the painting in a train compartment. [I’m betting he didn’t know the risks of working in a museum].

The Americans presented the painting to the Austrian Government in 1946, since the Czernin family were deemed to have sold it voluntarily, without undue force from Hitler. The Czernin family made several attempts to claim restitution, each time being rejected. A 1998 restitution law, which pertains to public institutions, bolstered the family’s legal position,^[33] but the case was rejected again by the Austrian government in 2011.^[34][35]

The Art of Painting seems to have led a more interesting life than most people. If you want to see it in person, you can go to the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

#art, #arthistory, #artmaster, #artpodcast, #dutchartist,#inspiration, #vermeer, #museumart