''The Art of Painting'' (Dutch: ''Allegorie op de schilderkunst''), also known as ''The Allegory of Painting'', or ''Painter in his Studio'', is a 17th-century oil on canvas painting by Dutch painter

Johannes Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...

. It is owned by the Austrian Republic and is on display in the

Kunsthistorisches Museum The Kunsthistorisches Museum ( "Museum of Art History", often referred to as the "Museum of Fine Arts") is an art museum in Vienna, Austria. Housed in its festive palatial building on the Vienna Ring Road, it is crowned with an octagonal d ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. Many art historians think that it is an

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

painting Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and a ...

, hence the alternative title of the painting. Its composition and

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

make it the most complex Vermeer work of all. After Vermeer's '' Christ in the House of Martha and Mary'' and ''The Procuress'' it is his largest work. This illusionistic painting is one of Vermeer's most famous. In 1868 Thoré-Bürger, known today for his rediscovery of the work of painter Johannes Vermeer, regarded this painting as his most interesting. Svetlana Alpers describes it as unique and ambitious;

Walter Liedtke Walter Arthur Liedtke, Jr. (August 28, 1945 – February 3, 2015) was an American art historian, writer and Curator of Dutch and Flemish Paintings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was known as one of the world's leading scholars of Dutch a ...

"as a virtuoso display of the artist's power of invention and execution, staged in an imaginary version of his studio ..." According to

Albert Blankert Albert Blankert (16 June 1940 - 22 November 2022) was a Dutch art historian and expert in 17th century Dutch painting and the art of Johannes Vermeer. He was Slade Professor of Fine Art at the University of Cambridge from 1999 to 2000. Selected pu ...

"No other painting so flawlessly integrates naturalistic technique, brightly illuminated space, and a complexly integrated composition."

Description

This canvas depicts an artist painting a woman dressed in blue posing as a model in his studio. The subject is standing by a window and a large map of the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

hangs on the wall behind. It is signed to the right of the girl "I annesVer. Meer", but not dated. Most experts assume it was executed sometime between 1665/1668, but some suggest the work could have been created as late as 1670–1675. In 1663 Vermeer had been visited by

Balthasar de Monconys Balthasar de Monconys (1611–1665) was a French traveller, diplomat, physicist and magistrate, who left a diary, which was published by his son as ''Journal des voyages de Monsieur de Monconys, Conseiller du Roy en ses Conseils d’Estat & Privé ...

, but had no painting to show, so it was possibly done "in order to have an outstanding specimen of his art in his studio." Vermeer obviously liked the painting; he never sold it during his lifetime. According to Alpers "it stands as a kind of summary and assessment of what has been done."

Elements

Johannes Vermeer - The Art of Painting (detail) - WGA24677

The painting has only two figures, the painter and his subject, a woman with downcast eyes. The painter was thought to be a self-portrait of the artist;

Jean-Louis Vaudoyer Jean-Louis Vaudoyer (10 September 1883, in Le Plessis-Robinson, Hauts-de-Seine – 20 May 1963) was a French novelist, poet, essayist and art historian. He was also administrator general of the Comédie-Française The Comédie-Française () or ...

suggested the young woman could be his daughter. The painter sits in front of the painting on the easel, where you can see the sketch of the crown. He is dressed in an elegant black garment with cuts on the sleeves and on the back that offers a glimpse of the shirt underneath. He has short puffy breeches and orange stockings, an expensive and fashionable garment that is also found in other works of the time, as in a well-known self-portrait by Rubens. The tapestry and the chair, both

repoussoir In two-dimensional works of art, such as painting, printmaking, photography or bas-relief, ''repoussoir'' (, ''pushing back'') is an object along the right or left foreground that directs the viewer's eye into the composition by bracketing ( f ...

s, lead the viewer into the painting. As in ''

The Allegory of Faith ''The Allegory of Faith'', also known as ''Allegory of the Catholic Faith'', is a Dutch Golden Age painting by Johannes Vermeer from about 1670–1672. It has been in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York since 1931. This and '' Art of Pa ...

'', the ceiling can be seen. Experts attribute

symbol A symbol is a mark, sign, or word that indicates, signifies, or is understood as representing an idea, object, or relationship. Symbols allow people to go beyond what is known or seen by creating linkages between otherwise very different conc ...

s to various aspects of the painting. A number of the items, a

plaster Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

mask A mask is an object normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance, or entertainment and often they have been employed for rituals and rights. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and pra ...

, perhaps representing the debate on

paragone Paragone ( it, paragone, meaning ''comparison''), was a debate during the Italian Renaissance in which painting and sculpture (and to a degree, architecture) were each championed as forms of art superior and distinct to each other. While other a ...

, the presence of a piece of cloth, a

folio The term "folio" (), has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for a book ma ...

, and some leather on the table have been linked to the symbols of

Liberal Arts Liberal arts education (from Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as La ...

. The representation of the marble tiled floor and the splendid golden chandelier are examples of Vermeer's craftsmanship and show his knowledge of perspective. Each object reflects or absorbs light differently, getting the most accurate rendering of material effects. Sitting Leo Belgicus - Visscher

The map, remarkable for the representation of light on it, shows the

Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the French departments of Nord (F ...

of the Netherlands, flanked by 20 views of prominent Dutch cities. It was published by

Claes Janszoon Visscher Claes Janszoon Visscher (1587 – 19 June 1652) was a Dutch Golden Age draughtsman, engraver, mapmaker, and publisher. He was the founder of the successful Visscher family mapmaking business. The firm that he established in Amsterdam would be p ...

in 1636. This map, but without the city views on the left and right can be seen on paintings by Jacob Ochtervelt and

Nicolaes Maes Nicolaes Maes (January 1634December 1693 (buried 24 December 1693)) was a Dutch painter known for his genre scenes, portraits, religious compositions and the occasional still life. A pupil of Rembrandt in Amsterdam, he returned to work in his ...

. Similar maps were found in the

Bibliothèque Nationale A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...

in Paris and in the Swedish

Skokloster Skokloster Castle ( sv, Skoklosters slott) is a Swedish Baroque castle built between 1654 and 1676 by Carl Gustaf Wrangel, located on a peninsula of Lake Mälaren between Stockholm and Uppsala. It became a state museum in the 1970s and displays co ...

. In the top left of the map two women can be seen; one bearing a

cross-staff The term Jacob's staff is used to refer to several things, also known as cross-staff, a ballastella, a fore-staff, a ballestilla, or a balestilha. In its most basic form, a Jacob's staff is a stick or pole with length markings; most staffs ar ...

and compasses, while the other has a palette, brush, and a city view in the hand.

Symbolism and allegory

Michiel van Musscher - The Painter's Studio - WGA16407

Vermeer had a theoretical interest for painting. The subject is presumed to be

Fama FAMA () is a Hong Kong hip hop duo consisting of members C Kwan and Luk Wing (6-Wing). Formed in 2002, the duo have since released 10 studio albums and EPs. Known for their quick-wit and humour, along with the use of lyrics and music to reflect ...

, Pictura, or

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing. Etymology Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλε ...

, the

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in ...

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

, evidenced by her wearing a

laurel wreath A laurel wreath is a round wreath made of connected branches and leaves of the bay laurel (), an aromatic broadleaf evergreen, or later from spineless butcher's broom ('' Ruscus hypoglossum'') or cherry laurel ('' Prunus laurocerasus''). It is ...

, holding a

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, possibly carrying a book by

Herodotus Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria (Italy). He is known fo ...

Thucydides Thucydides (; grc, , }; BC) was an Athenian historian and general. His '' History of the Peloponnesian War'' recounts the fifth-century BC war between Sparta and Athens until the year 411 BC. Thucydides has been dubbed the father of " scienti ...

, which matches the description in Cesare Ripa's 16th century book on

emblem An emblem is an abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a king or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and '' symbol'' are often use ...

s and personifications entitled ''

Iconologia Cesare Ripa (c. 1555, Perugia – Rome) was an Italian iconographer who worked for Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati as a cook and butler. Life Little is known about his life. He was born of humble origin in Perugia about 1555. The exact date o ...

''. However, according to Ripa History should look back and not down as in this painting. Following Vermeer's contemporary Gerard de Lairesse, interested in French Classicism and Ripa, there is another explanation; he mentions history and poetry as the main resources of a painter. The woman in blue could be representing poetry, pointing to

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

who observed that "

Simonides Simonides of Ceos (; grc-gre, Σιμωνίδης ὁ Κεῖος; c. 556–468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets esteeme ...

calls painting silent poetry and poetry painting that speaks", later paraphrased by the Latin poet

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

ut pictura poesis ''Ut pictura poesis'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "as is painting so is poetry". The statement (often repeated) occurs most famously in Horace's '' Ars Poetica'', near the end, immediately after another famous quotation, "", or " even ...

. If so, the map is representing history. Johannes Vermeer - The Art of Painting (detail) - WGA24678

The

double-headed eagle In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantine Empire, origi ...

, symbol of the Habsburg

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars. From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...

, which possibly adorns the central golden

chandelier A chandelier (; also known as girandole, candelabra lamp, or least commonly suspended lights) is a branched ornamental light fixture designed to be mounted on ceilings or walls. Chandeliers are often ornate, and normally use incandescent ...

, may represent the former rulers of the Low Countries. The large map on the back wall has a prominent crease that divides the Seventeen Provinces into the north and south. (West is at the top of the map.) The crease may symbolize the division between the

Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands ( Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiograph ...

to the north and

southern provinces The Southern Provinces ( ar, الأقاليم الجنوبية, Al-Aqalim al-Janubiyah, french: Provinces du Sud) or Moroccan Sahara ( ar, الصحراء المغربية, Assahra al-Maghribiya, french: Sahara marocain) are the terms used by th ...

under Habsburg rule. The map shows the earlier political division between the Union of Utrecht to the north, and the loyal provinces to the south. This interpretation might have appealed to Hitler who owned the painting during the war. According to Liedtke a political interpretation of the map and the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

eagle is unconvincing; they overlook other motives. The map could suggest though that painting has brought fame to the Netherlands; ships sailing over the folds suggest that.

Provenance

The painting is considered a work with significance for Vermeer because he did not part with it or sell it, even when he was in debt. On 24 February 1676, his widow Catharina bequeathed it to her mother,

Maria Thins Maria Thins (c. 1593 – 27 December 1680) was the mother-in-law of Johannes Vermeer and a member of the Gouda Thins family. Life Maria was born in Gouda. In 1622 she married Reynier Bolnes, a prominent and prosperous brickmaker. In 1635 the ma ...

, in an attempt to avoid the sale of the painting to satisfy creditors. The executor of Vermeer's estate, the famous Delft microscopist

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek ( ; ; 24 October 1632 – 26 August 1723) was a Dutch microbiologist and microscopist in the Golden Age of Dutch science and technology. A largely self-taught man in science, he is commonly known as " the ...

, determined that the transferral of the work to the late painter's mother-in-law was illegal and, according to

John Michael Montias John Michael Montias (3 October 1928 – 26 July 2005) was a French-born American economist and art historian, known for his contributions to cultural economics, particularly related to Dutch Golden Age painting. Montias was part of the Annales ...

, at least a curious transaction. On 15 March 1677 most of his paintings were sold in an auction at the Guild in Delft. It is not known who bought the Art of Painting; perhaps it was

Jacob Dissius Jacob Abrahamsz. Dissius (1653 - 1695) was a Dutch typographer and printer. He is most notable as an art collector and for his links to Johannes Vermeer - his collection included 21 Vermeer works (including '' The Milkmaid'', '' Portrait of a Young ...

. It can not be determined with certainty whether the painting is quoted in the auction Dissius of 1696 as "Portrait of Vermeer in a room with various accessories." The painting was owned by

Gerard van Swieten Gerard van Swieten (7 May 1700 – 18 June 1772) was a Dutch physician who from 1745 was the personal physician of the Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa and transformed the Austrian health service and medical university education. He was the fat ...

, and passed into the hands of Gottfried van Swieten. In 1813, it was purchased for 50 florins by the

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n-Austrian Count Rudolf Czernin. It was placed on public display in the Czernin Museum in Vienna. Until 1860, the painting was considered to have been painted by Vermeer's contemporary, Pieter de Hooch; Vermeer was little-known until the late 19th century. Hooch's signature was even forged on the painting. It was at the intervention of the German art historian

Gustav Friedrich Waagen Gustav Friedrich Waagen (11 February 1794 – 15 July 1868) was a German art historian. His opinions were greatly respected in England, where he was invited to give evidence before the royal commission inquiring into the condition and future o ...

that it was recognised as a Vermeer original.

Nazi interest

In 1935, Count Jaromir Czernin had tried to sell the painting to Andrew W. Mellon, but the Austrian government prohibited the export of the painting. After the annexation of Austria, Philipp Reemtsma with the help of Reichsmarschall

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...

attempted to acquire the painting. The transaction to a private person was refused being

cultural heritage Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soc ...

. It was finally acquired by

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...

for the collection of the Linzer Museum at a price of 1.82 million

Reichsmark The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reich ...

through his agent,

Hans Posse Dr. Hans Posse (6 February 1879 – 7 December 1942) was a German art historian, museum curator, and, for over three years, from June 1939 until his death, the special representative of Adolf Hitler appointed to expand the collection of paint ...

on 20 November 1940. The painting was 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. The painting was escorted to Vienna from Munich by Andrew Ritchie, chief 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. The Americans presented the painting to the Austrian Government in late 1945 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, although this played a role in securing an official certification of

Hitler's death Adolf Hitler, chancellor and dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, died by suicide via gunshot on 30 April 1945 in the in Berlin after it became clear that Germany would lose the Battle of Berlin, which led to the end of World War II in Eu ...

in 1956. In 1958, Vermeer's ''The Art of Painting'' was finally moved from temporary status into the permanent collection of the

in Vienna. A 1998 restitution law, which pertains to public institutions, bolstered the family's legal position, but the case was rejected again by the Austrian government in 2011.

References