[MUSIC PLAYING]
SPEAKER: Vermeer's master work
The Music Lesson clearly shows
that nothing is left to chance.
On the far side
of a sunlit room, a woman stands
playing a virginal.
A man in elegant dress
watches her and listens
intently.
Both figures are quiet,
as though the music were
measured and restrained.
This is one of the most refined
of Vermeer's works.
He carefully calculated
every aspect of its composition.
The figures,
the musical instruments,
the mirror, table, tile patches
and chairs,
however realistically presented,
are conceived as interlocking
patterns of color and shape.
Vermeer's placement
of the vanishing point
creates a dynamic and clear
focus.
It falls on the sunlit sleeve
of the woman.
A halo of reflected light
and color
emphasizes its importance.
We can actually see the hole
in the canvass left by the pin
Vermeer used to construct
the perspective of the painting.
The power of this work grows out
of Vermeer's use
of linear perspective.
The sharply receding wall
on the left, coupled
with the pronounced orthogonals
of the window frame
leads the eye quickly
to the woman.
She becomes the fulcrum
around which the painting
revolves.
Vermeer further compresses
the spacing by filling
the right side of the scene
with a large tapestry-covered
table.
The angle of its receding edge
transports us quickly back
to the vanishing point.
The floor also plays
a significant role
in the perspective construction.
Its strong, diagonal pattern
leads us directly to the woman.
The interlocking series
of rectangular shapes
surrounding the woman
adds visual emphasis
to her importance.
Vermeer creates
a strong, vertical focus
by placing the mirror directly
above the lid of the virginal,
so that the bottom edge
of its frame is overlapped.
By the top edge of the lid.
By including the woman's
reflection in the mirror,
he underscores her significance
within the painting.
The placement of the man
and his relationship
to the woman was of concern
to Vermeer.
Infrared analysis revealed
that he first painted the man
further forward and leaning more
towards the woman.
She, likewise, had a more active
stance, her hair twisted back
in his direction.
Vermeer subsequently altered
the figures.
The woman now stands directly
facing the virginal.
Seen from behind, her face
is hidden from the viewer.
But her image in the mirror
was left as originally painted.
He moved the man slightly,
placing him in a more upright
position.
These adjustments were
subtle, but crucial.
Vermeer transformed the figures
from active poses
to statuesque ones,
emphasizing the permanence
of their relationship.
The effect brings them
into harmony with the carefully
ordered space.
Vermeer uses color to strengthen
the focus.
The yellow-white of the woman's
blouse, the golden color
of the virginal, and matching
reflected light on the back wall
highlight the figures.
The red of the woman's skirt
and Vermeer's selective use
of black on the mirror,
the virginal, the clothing
of the two figures,
and the pattern of the floor
help lock our eye into place.
The combination
of overall contrasting colors,
patterns, and shapes
create major and minor accents,
focused on the theme
of the painting.
Vermeer preserves the privacy
of the couple
by creating an intimate space
through the arrangement
of objects on the right.
The strategic placement
of the chairs and the base viol
on the floor lock the couple
into the background,
protecting
their private communication
and separating them from us.
The forward position
of the table and the placement
of the painting on the back wall
reinforce their intimate space.
By placing a chair directly
between the table
and the vanishing point, Vermeer
interrupts the perspective line,
slowing down
our immediate access
to the couple.
We are outside, looking in.
The white, elegantly
proportioned pitcher sitting
on the table
is central to the composition
of the painting.
Its form echoes the curve
of the gentleman's arm
and its color helps to link
the foreground
to the background.
The purity of this form
gives it an almost sacramental
character, symbolically
reinforcing the theme of comfort
and harmony provided by love.
The mirror is one of Vermeer's
primary creative tools.
Using the mirror, Vermeer allows
us to look down on the woman,
the carpeted table,
and the tiled floor of the room.
The sensitivity with which he
has rendered the reflection
is remarkable.
He set back into the mirror
rather than placing it
on the surface,
by painting the forms softer
and smaller
and by depicting the distorted
reflections along the mirror's
beveled edge.
Vermeer uses the mirror to give
us another viewpoint
of the woman,
revealing her most
inner thoughts.
By leaving the woman's
original position in the mirror
gazing at the man, he suspends
that psychological moment
forever.
It is this poetic image
in the mirror that draws us
emotionally into the heart
of the painting.
Vermeer manipulated the angle
of the mirror for that purpose.
Here we see the tilt
of the mirror as he painted it.
But in order to actually see
the scene the mirror reflects,
it would have to be drastically
tilted by more than 30 degrees.
Vermeer manipulated reality
to intensify
the psychological power
of the painting.
Understanding the potential
of light is a primary aspect
of Vermeer's genius.
Here we see the room as it most
likely would have been lit,
given the clues the painting
provides.
Vermeer then selectively
manipulates the light
to strengthen the focus.
He eliminated the shadows that
should exist on the back wall
to create an evenly illuminated
white surface,
providing a backdrop
to emphasize the silhouettes
of the figures.
While Vermeer drastically
reduced the shadow at the top
of the virginal
to allow the upper wall to be
gently bathed in light,
he darkened the shadow
at the base of the window
and distorted its angle
on the wall.
These two divergent shadows hold
the virginal in place.
The upper shadow leading the eye
to the corner of the lid
and the lower shadow drawing
our eye to where the leg meets
the floor.
Vermeer manipulated the shadows
beneath the virginal
by placing them closer
to each other
than they would really be,
giving them greater substance
and emphasizing
the silhouetted shapes
of the legs.
He eliminated the shadow
of the virginal's body
against the rear wall
in order to reinforce
this effect.
Vermeer completes
this masterpiece by inserting
his own presence.
Showing the reflection
of his easel
in the top of the mirror,
he reminds us that the artist is
clearly present
and in complete control.
He is the master of what we see.
