FA 30b Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Court Painter, Chiaroscuro, Pentagon
15 Apr 2017
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Document Summary
Vermeer"s allegory of painting was one of the artist"s final paintings. The artist"s portrait is not shown as he works in his studio. The model is a personification of history, known as clio, who holds a book and trumpet. The artist was not known for history paintings, and the artist wears an outdated renaissance costume. Traditionally, curtains were used to cover and protect paintings, and their use in paintings had a basis in the zeuxis curtain story (painted curtain over grapes in competition). Some have argued that this is actually an allegory of painting. The map in the background is a means of visual knowledge, and was an often depicted image in. The map has texture and is creased; it depicts the former unified netherlands. The crease actually shows the current political divisions of the netherlands. The map reveals more about the artist"s talent than the depiction of the model.
