beside the easel

A Couple Walking in the Citizens' Hall of Amsterdam Town Hall , ca. 1665 A contemporary of Vermeer yet not nearly as famous, Pieter de Hooch (pronounced Peter de HOHhuh) also known as Pieter de Hooghe was baptized on December 20, 1629— for some reason birthdates were not always recorded accurately or at all, as was the case with Vermeer also. Similar in style, it is not known whether they ever met or who influenced whom, although present day scholars believe it was Vermeer that influenced de Hooch. This genre of Dutch painting that explores everyday life, completely secular, is the one similarity they both have but if we look more carefully there are very distinct differences between these two Masters. And de Hooch, far from being the lesser of the two, is quite the contrary as we will see in these examples. De Hooch seems to have favored warm light and a warmer palette than Vermeer. In the above example, A Couple Walking in the Citizens' Hall of Amsterdam Town Hall ...

Woman Holding a Balance, 1664 Johannes Vermeer was baptised on October 31, 1632—the exact date is not known. A master of indoor scenes with cool daylight, Vermeer worked slowly and deliberately, with particular attention to objects, details, body language, symbolism and composition. His exact technique is something of debate amoung scholars, with theories floating around about everything from camera obscura devices to complex glazing techniques, yet one thing is certain: no drawings of his survive. It brings attention to how he was able to conceive of such elaborate compositions without the slightest preparatory sketch or drawing, and even looking at his work up close he often blurs details and smooths out brushstrokes, as if trying to mimic a camera. At any rate his understanding of light and how it falls on an object or person, inspired by the studies of Da Vinci, reveal a simple yet very complex observational skills and technique. In Woman Holding a Balance Vermeer's de...