My name is Arthur Wheelock.
I'm curator
of Dutch and Flemish paintings
here at the Gallery.
I'm delighted to be here
to introduce this show to you,
and a little bit
about what the show is all
about.
The way I thought would be
a nice approach
for this afternoon,
would be to give
a short introduction
of the exhibition.
What we were intending to do,
and what the character
of the show is.
And then invite
my wonderful colleague
from Dublin from the National
Gallery in Ireland, Adriaan
Waiboer, who we have worked
together on this show for six
years or so.
And we've gotten to know
each other pretty well.
But anyhow, we knew
each other well before then,
so it's been
a wonderful collaborative thing.
And Adriaan and I have thought
about this show,
and what we wanted to do,
and what the ideas underlying it
would be.
And I thought I'd have
a discussion up here
between the two of us
talking about some
of the issues,
some of the things we learned,
some of the questions
that we had,
and some of the things we hope
that you all will experience
in the exhibition,
would be a nice way
to go about it.
So that's the plan
at the moment.
So I am so excited.
I've got to say,
it's pretty cool.
Vermeer and the Masters of Genre
Paintings.
And this is not going to be
the way you see the show very
much from now on.
There's probably going to be
a lot of people standing
in front of those pictures.
So enjoy the picture while you
see it.
[LAUGHS] Anyhow.
But as you come into the show--
I'm not sure how many of you
have been able to visit
the exhibition yet-- but what
we have tried to do,
is have a sort of slow entree
into the exhibition to give you
an idea of what it's about,
and really feature
a certain aspect
of the exhibition.
And that is the whole concept,
is Vermeer and masters
of genre painting.
So the idea is not a Vermeer
show.
It is a relationship of Vermeer
with other
of the great contemporaries
working in high-life genre
scenes in the latter part
of the 17th century.
And these are a lot of artists
that you've gotten to know here
in Washington over the years,
because we've been so
fortunate to be able to have
a number of monographic shows
since 1995
when we did the Vermeer show.
And we've had a Gerard ter Borch
exhibition, and Gerrit Dou,
and Gabriel Metsu, and Frans van
Mieris, and Jan Steen.
A lot of the artists that you
will be seeing
in this exhibition
have been featured
in monographic exhibitions.
But they are all kind of silo
shows.
They all celebrate
those artists.
And we talk about relationships
with other artists
in the catalogs.
But we've never been able to see
these relationships side
by side.
So the idea that Adriaan and I,
and Blaise Ducos also,
the other curator
from the exhibition
from the Louvre, for the show
was first shown.
The Louvre, and then Dublin,
and then here.
So we have tried to bring
together works that demonstrate
that these artists actually had
some idea of what was going on
amongst their contemporaries.
Exactly how that happened
and how they knew
each other's works is a matter
of a lot of discussion, a lot
of questions.
Not all of which we've answered.
Most of which we've not
answered.
Anyhow, the idea was to try
to ask those questions.
And what we're hoping that
for all of you
who come to see the show
will enjoy the kind
of experience of discovery
that we all have in front
of these works.
This discovery of relationships,
of differences.
Who are these artists?
What are
their individual personalities?
What are the ways they connect?
And go back and forth,
and look at these works
in that kind of way.
So in the first room,
actually in microcosm,
demonstrate a bit about what
the show is all about.
We have in this room this very
beautiful, very important,
and magical painting by Vermeer
from the Louvre, The Lace Maker.
And we have every bit
as important magical painting
by another artist who his name
is Nicolaes Maes.
And this painting maybe some
of you seen.
It's been here.
It was in the drawings,
the paintings exhibition.
And it's been here
in the cabinet galleries
from the National Gallery
in Canada.
And they've been very
generous to lend it
to both exhibitions
and to have it here
in the interim.
Because we knew, wow.
What a great comparison to show,
right off the bat, two
lace makers.
Artists depicting a subject that
is not very common, but suddenly
it becomes current
in the latter half
of the 17th century.
Nicolaes Maes first does it
in the mid 1650s.
And Vermeer does his
in the late 1660s.
So they're not done
at the same time, but there's
clearly an interest
in this particular subject.
And the subject is really
interesting.
OK.
What do we have here?
Two ladies very, very intent
on doing their lace making.
And they are leaning over
their lace making cushions.
They have their bobbins
in their hands.
And there's this sense
of concentration
that you have in both
of these works.
So in that respect,
they are very.
Similar but in other respects,
they are very different.
And that's part of what the fun
of this show is.
To say, OK.
Nicolaes Maes is showing you
the world in which this lady
exists.
She sits there in the room
behind a desk.
She has her lace making
apparatus in front of her.
She has also these big books.
And a big book
in the Netherlands pretty much
says Bible.
So that tells you Bible.
So this is of a lady who's very
diligent.
And lace making was an activity
that was one that was
a virtuous activity for a woman,
to be very intently engaged
in their all kind of fine work
that was required in this craft.
To be sure that you understood
that she was religious
and she had that--
that was part of who she was,
there is behind her,
to the left, is a portrait
print.
And that's Martin Luther.
And so she
is a good Protestant soul.
She has Martin Luther there.
To the right of her
is a very curious apparatus
on the wall.
And that's a calendar.
So that really suggests that she
is taking care of her time.
Taking care of her energy.
What is she doing?
Then to the far right
are the moneybags.
So she
is diligent with household
responsibilities and taking care
of the family's wealth.
And all of the--
And right there
underneath the shelf are keys.
The keys that represent caring
and responsibility
within the household.
All of these elements
add up
to a nice wonderful story.
Vermeer takes away most
of those things.
You now are
in this amazing experience
where, instead of being
at distance, you are drawn into,
you're leaning over, totally
engaged in her engagement.
You are there looking
over watching the intensity
of her activity
as she is carefully leaning
forward too.
This wonderful curl of her hair
that kind of gives you
that sense of the energy
that she has inside.
And what is, to me, also
fascinating, is you look
at that cushion
in the foreground.
And they have
these white and red threads
coming out.
Those white and red threads are
one of the most amazing areas
of paint in the whole history
of art.
Go look at those threads.
They are like liquid.
They just flow out of there.
You can't distinguish them.
They are all very
diffuse and soft.
And Vermeer has purposely done
that so that you will not focus
your visual energy on them,
you'll pass by them.
You'll go over them so you focus
your energy on the woman
herself.
So it's very much of how does he
concentrate your eye?
And where does he lead you?
How does he draw you in there?
And what colors?
So think about in this show,
think about colors and light.
What different palettes
these two artists
have, and the way they
depict their world.
That is really part of the story
that Adriaan and I will talk
about a little bit later.
But these are things as you go
through.
We'll show you a few examples.
We're going to be very
selective in our examples.
But as you go through,
these are questions we're hoping
that you will all sort of think
about.
And we go back and forth
and compare these works.
So Mr. Maes, Nicolaes Maes comes
from the city of Dordrecht.
And this is a map
of the Netherlands.
It's a small little country
about the size of Maryland.
But there's Dordrecht.
We've identified cities
on this map that were the homes
of many of the artists
in this exhibition.
So Dordrecht where Maes was.
Delft where Vermeer and Pieter
de Hooch worked.
Then Hague where Caspar Netscher
worked.
Leiden where Gerrit Dou
and Frans van Mieris worked.
Amsterdam where you see Gabriel
Metsu.
And way off in the right,
you see Deventer, which
is so far afield,
but actually is the home
of Gerard ter Borch, who
is probably one
of the prime artists
in this exhibition.
So the question we have
is, how does somebody
in Deventer
know what's going on in Delft
rather.
Going on Deventer, or Amsterdam,
or Harlem.
How did that happen?
Did they travel easily?
There was a lot
of easy communications.
These towns aren't very far
apart from each other.
Were they student-teachers
relationships?
Were they drinking buddy
relationships?
Were they parents?
Did they have dealers?
Were there collectors that they
visited?
How did they know what was going
on?
And that is the key question
that we sort of started out
with.
And we're trying to look at it.
So what are the probabilities
of relationships?
Sometimes we have very few
documents,
so what are the probabilities
of these things happening?
So in the show, you see a lot
of groups.
Groups of these types of works.
Of the two we started with,
there are others that are walls.
And this is one of the walls
that you come
into in the third room.
And I'm just going to pick out
a few of the paintings
on this wall
to kind of show you that we
have, sometimes there are groups
of three, sometimes groups
of five.
And too, there are
different levels
of relationships that we've been
able to establish, and the loans
were able to get.
And I've got to say,
we have had amazing success
for the loans
because everybody we've dealt
with,
public and private collectors,
have been so excited by doing
this.
This has really not been done
in this way in that route
for sure.
And to see these paintings side
by side, wow.
It's really-- Everybody thought,
my God.
This is really a very cool idea.
[LAUGHTER]
So this is a group of three
from that group of five
on the wall.
And this depicts--
These three are-- On the left,
a Gerard ter Borch painting.
In the middle, A Vermeer
painting.
And the right, Frans van Mieris.
So ter Borch from Deventer,
Vermeer from Delft,
Frans van Mieris from Leiden.
Three different artists
in different cities,
all doing these paintings
at the same time with very
comparable scenarios,
each of them.
Now, I want to start with a ter
Borch because ter Borch, to me,
is one of the most fascinating
of these artists,
and one whose work
really is at the core of what
this exhibition is all about.
He is the first who really takes
us into the inner sanctums
of the home.
He is in Deventer living
with his family.
And primary
amongst these individuals
and his family is Gesina ter
Borch.
And this is Gesina.
She depicts-- You see her a lot
in this exhibition.
And she is a young teenage lady.
Young woman who is fascinated
by love.
All the issues of love.
The excitement of love,
the disappointments of love.
There are all kinds of things
that she is talking
about in very interesting
Petrarchan kind of theories
of love.
And so what ter Borch--
Gerard ter Borch depicts
Gesina--
He often takes us
into her special room
where she's getting dressed
before she goes out to see
the world.
Go out to see the public.
Nobody could do this
in the Netherlands.
I mean, unless you're really
intimate family.
But now, ter Borch allows us
into this realm.
We see here now, getting
dressed.
She's looking in the mirror.
And a Maid servant behind her.
The bed right behind her.
So this kind of in a world
of innocence, this young lady
before she goes out
in the public, pretty much
is what the feeling of this kind
of painting.
Frans van Mieris does
the same kind of thing.
But now-- So certainly inspired
by ter Borch.
But here we have, not
a young, innocent young lady,
but we have a more mature woman
who is not looking so innocent.
Or she's sort of looking kind
of--
[GROANS]
[LAUGHTER]
Life's not gone all that well
love-wise for her.
And you can tell
it's a love-wise issue
because a love letter--
it's always a love letter.
There's nothing else.
They don't write anything
except love letters.
[LAUGHTER]
There it is on the table.
It's a love letter on the table.
Things have not gone well.
She has a very, very expensive
clothes.
Leiden was particularly
the place where they
manufactured materials
and fabrics.
And the Leiden artists, Dou
and van Mieris,
loved to paint these fabrics.
And there she is, a very
well-dressed, but really at a
different stage in life.
Different issues of love.
But the inspiration
is from the Gerard ter Borch.
And then we have in the middle
of this wall, this very
beautiful painting by Vermeer
from Berlin of a young lady
standing in the room
holding ribbons of her pearl
necklace.
And she, like the others,
are also gazing into the mirror.
But is an incredible sweep
or emptiness of wall between her
and that mirror.
And that gaze activates
that whole space.
Vermeer allows the way she looks
across to kind of enliven
and activate that whole world.
It's incredible the kind
of power of that woman
as she stands there gazing
at the mirror.
As though she had seen herself
for the first time, and stopped.
And this permanent gesture
that she'll never move.
She will never move.
And that's part of what
Vermeer's magic all the way
through the show.
That he creates this, somehow,
this sense of dignity.
And it's partly body language,
the way she stands.
The sense, now, with light
coming and flooding in,
that there is different
palette again.
The yellow.
What does that mean?
It's the kind of feeling of hope
in this case.
Yellow was symbolically
connected with hope.
That was all part of it.
But the nuance of light as it's
coming through the room.
The feeling that we have
to tread very gently when we
come to a Vermeer,
because we really don't want
to disturb her.
We don't want to disturb
this moment
of perfect equilibrium.
And Vermeer keeps us away.
He has tables, and chairs,
and foreground.
Does not allow us
into her world.
So we are very quiet.
And this is the thing
about Vermeer.
You always go to a Vermeer
in a very quiet way.
And somehow by her being
in this sense of permanence,
she's doing something that we
all do at some point
in our life.
We've looked in the mirror,
we've seen ourself
in the mirror.
And somehow with Vermeer, damn
it.
That's important what she's
doing.
Somehow, she feels important,
because she's never going
to move.
She feels a sense of permanence
of who she is, and dignity.
And we all take that
into our own selves.
As we look at this,
we come away from a Vermeer
painting always saying, hmm.
Yeah.
I'm important.
Something about me is important.
I do these same kinds of things,
and I'd never noticed it.
But yes.
That's me.
I can feel that way.
So that is something that I
think is one of the reasons
Vermeer always speaks to us
in this very special way.
So these groups are there
to be seen.
And so we have ladies writing
letters.
There are a lot of ladies
writing letters in this show.
Women are literate.
They write.
They read.
They play instruments.
They are very
important to that society
and that becomes evident
over and over again
in this exhibition.
In letters written and received.
Written and thought about.
You have pendant paintings.
These are Gabriel Metsu
paintings.
Left and right.
There are pendant paintings
from our colleagues in Dublin.
And the Vermeer, beautiful
Vermeer in the middle, also
from Dublin.
These are the great treasures.
Some of the three
great treasures
in this exhibition.
The Metsu's are widely
understood to be the greatest
Dutch paintings not painted
by Vermeer.
[LAUGHTER]
But we'll talk about them later.
But I just wanted to introduce
you a bit
to the idea of these letter
writers.
And then we have
this amazing wall with men.
There are not many men
in this exhibition.
Most of the men are drunk
or something else.
They're not behaving
particularly well.
But there is one wall--
Please pay attention, guys.
They Men are doing good things.
They are scholars.
They're astronomers,
and geographers.
And they are dressed
in the robes of scholars
and geometers.
And they are thinking
about the universe.
They're thinking
about abstract ideas
with the heavens.
And the painting
from the Louvre, the astronomer
on the right, and the geographer
on the left from Frankfurt,
who is out there exploring
the world.
What is the path that we are
going to follow
in our daily life
as we explore the world ahead
of us?
Amazing paintings.
But we are thrilled.
And in between,
a beautiful painting.
A little dark night seen
by Gerrit Dou.
The astronomer at night
with a candle
looking at his book with a globe
of the heavens beside him.
Thinking about knowledge
and exploring importance
of time.
Not wasting time, and thinking,
and working hard.
Wonderful, wonderful experience,
these three paintings together.
And then we have groups that
do not have that Vermeer
in them.
So I just want to make
that point as well.
That Vermeer is part
of many groups.
There are 10 Vermeer's
in this show.
And those were selected because
of the groups.
But they are of carefully
thought through.
Just to remind you,
there are two Vermeer's
in the permanent collection,
the National Gallery, they're
still
in the Dutch permanent
collection.
They're not in the show
because they don't work
in these groups.
There are special groups
that these paintings belong to.
But the ladies with parrots.
There are three
wonderful paintings.
One by Dou, one from van Mieris
on the left,
one by Caspar Netscher
on the right.
That's a recent acquisition
at the gallery.
This one on the right.
Beautiful paintings
of a high life genre scene
there.
Parrots.
People of the Dutch wealth
comes from trading,
from around the world.
And so the parrots aren't born
in the Netherlands, basically.
They're brought there.
It's not part
of the native stock.
So that is showing something
exotic.
And that's part of showing off.
But when you look at paintings
like this, look at the pose,
look at the themes.
But also spend time looking
at the way they're painted.
So look at the very fine,
refined painting of a Frans van
Mieris on the left,
and the very delicacy
of the fabrics.
And look at the more fluid
stroke-y kind of brushwork
with Caspar Netscher.
They're side by side.
Think about those.
How they make that figure
come alive, active.
How does Netscher do it
with the brush work?
And how does van Mieris have it
a little bit quieter?
Because of his brushwork,
that's all part of the joy
of these kinds of works.
And then one
of the great moments for me
in this exhibition
of the Gallery's
wonderful painting of The Woman
with a Balance.
And a comparison I've always
wanted, as long as I've been
here,
and that's with this Pieter de
Hooch painting from Berlin.
Where you have two paintings of
clearly related to each other.
There's no way one was painted
without knowledge of the other.
At this point in time, Vermeer
is always in Delft painting.
In Delft he paints that
in the '60s.
This painting by de Hooch
is when he has moved from Delft
to Amsterdam.
So he's definitely in Amsterdam
at this point.
Vermeer in Delft.
They know each other's work
somehow, but they have been
thinking about them in very
different ways.
So it's part of the wonder
of these two paintings.
And we'll talk about them later,
hopefully.
About the differences,
the similarities,
the differences of approach
of these two great masters.
[SIGHS] OK.
[LAUGHTER]
That's my little introduction
for 65 paintings.
And now I would like to move
to the next stage
of this program, which
is to invite Adriaan Waiboer.
Adriaan, please join me.
[APPLAUSE]
So introduce yourself, and tell
us how old you are and things
like that.
Can I give my regards
to my mother?
That's right.
[LAUGHS]
No, we-- My sort of introduction
into Dutch genre painting
really came via one
of these artists called Gabriel
Metsu.
And I did my PG dissertation
on Gabriel Metsu.
Wrote a book on him.
And because Gabriel Metsu really
looked at all these other
artists-- it's very clear that
he looks at all these others--
and responds to them very
clearly.
And so by learning about Metsu,
I learned about other artists.
And then I realized
that these other artists are
also looking at each other.
And everybody is looking
at each other.
And that's sort of--
that really fascinated me.
And I think
that that, of course,
many people knew.
I think art historians have
known for a long time
that these artists looked
at each other.
But I don't think in such
a comprehensive way.
I think that this exhibition
sort of makes that argument.
I think in a much more
comprehensive way, as such.
Well, I've learned so much, I
must say, in what we have found,
and others have helped us
in finding.
Their relationships are--
Over and over again.
Oh my god, I never thought
about that.
That has happened to me so often
in this show.
And I think it continues
to happen.
Walking through this exhibition,
you see that.
So it's a very open ended
kind of thing.
But anyhow, I thought maybe
a good place to start
with this other group
that I showed briefly
in my introduction, that maybe,
Adriaan, you could lead us
into what we were trying to do
with this group.
And then maybe we can look
at a couple of comparisons
within it.
Yeah.
I think one of the key things
for us with this exhibition
is to get you to compare
paintings.
To use your eyes and to look.
And let these paintings talk
to you.
And you to find out yourself how
these works
relate to each other.
I mean, we can tell you
to a certain extent,
but it's much more fun if you do
it yourself.
Because the great things
about Vermeer
and works by his contemporaries,
that they are very accessible
pictures.
They're not difficult Biblical
stories or mythological stories
that you really need to learn.
But I think, I want to stress
that, I think when you look
at these paintings,
look at the similarities
between these paintings.
And the similarities, they're
pretty obvious.
There are four women writing
letters.
But equally important, if not
more important,
is the differences
between these paintings.
Because these artists--
It's clear.
I mean, the picture
on the top right
is sort of the first painting
of a woman writing a letter
in Dutch art.
Possibly
one of the first paintings
of a woman writing a letter
in Western art, I would say.
Soon after, you get
these other paintings.
The one on the right,
as you say, is by ter Borch.
Ter Borch.
And everybody should recognize
Gesina, right?
All right.
And so, if you look at these two
paintings, you you can start
thinking, oh, it's very similar.
They're both at a desk,
and they have a quill
in their hand,
and they're clearly
in the process of trying to find
the words.
But then you want to know,
what are the differences?
Because these two artists are
after something entirely
different.
One of them is--
I mean, look, for example,
at the lighting.
The lighting is just
substantially different.
Frans van Mieris is on the left.
Frans van Mieris changes
to the theme into a nocturnal.
And so the way
he paints the woman, how he
renders the woman, in this light
is completely different.
He also puts her sort
of in this pose, which
is clearly a sign of sort
of melancholy.
And so, just this one
little pose sort of makes you
already think that she's writing
a very different letter
than the woman painted by ter
Borch.
And see, I don't see this
as melancholy at all.
[LAUGHTER]
I think she's--
She's clearly not happy.
No, she's not happy.
[LAUGHS]
[LAUGHTER]
No, no.
No.
But she's trying to figure out
how to get back at that guy.
[LAUGHS]
[LAUGHTER]
Now, what kind of words
are going to really make
that point?
[LAUGHTER]
To me, that's entirely--
And it's secretive,
it's sort of night time.
I think all these kind of words
come out.
I think this is sort of--
I think this is
key with Dutch paintings.
Is that they often give you half
of the story, and they really
encourage you to sort of finish.
If you disagree
about the concepts
of a painting, that's OK.
Don't start fighting.
That happens frequently.
See, I've mentioned this a lot.
These paintings were made
in the pre-television era.
[LAUGHTER]
And so, you would come
to a painting like this,
or one of the more complicated
ones, and you would look
and admire.
Oh my gosh.
Look at the way
that it's rendered.
Look at that beautiful fabric.
Look at the table covering.
And look at the detail
of the Vermeer's.
You would love all those.
The techniques, that would be
one thing.
But then, you would all stand
around and say, well, what's
going on?
Is she melancholy?
Or is she trying to get back
at that guy?
I mean, you would start
the discussions
and have a kind of--
This would be your after dinner
kind of thing to do.
I think talking
about these paintings, I mean,
these paintings were very much
intended to be talked
about with other people who knew
these.
And also, I think that even this
relationship
between these paintings.
I think that wasn't a subject
of debate.
Right.
Did you see that ter Borch
in the collection of so and so?
Because that really looks
like the painting.
Right.
You know?
And that's that the thing
that's important.
And I think I should--
It's important to make the point
right off the bat,
that these paintings are
actually somewhat smaller
than what's on the screen.
[LAUGHTER]
They're teeny little things.
They are meant to be looked up
close.
They're meant to be held
in your hand.
They're meant to be
personal items.
Yeah.
They're not in a big museum
like the National Gallery items.
I mean, we'd love to have them
here, but still.
[LAUGHS]
They were not intended
for that kind
of a broad audience.
They are very personal to one
person, two people,
a small group at the home,
in the home.
Now, what about this?
This brings up
your favorite artist, Gabriel
Metsu and a Vermeer.
Yeah.
Which is not a bad painting
either.
No.
But I always find it a bit
of an unfair comparison.
Because, I mean,
it's a great picture by Metsu,
but it's an even greater
painting by Vermeer.
So.
But I find with these two
paintings, I just find--
Should I move on?
No.
No.
[LAUGHTER]
No, the-- It's weird,
because you see these two
paintings, which which are
clearly from more or less
around the same time
and they're painting roughly
a similar thing.
This idea of a woman
writing a letter while looking
at the viewer.
And that subsequently triggers
to ask you, what's going on?
I know that you've suggested
that they are possibly
or probably portraits of women
in sort
of a guise of genre painting,
which is very well possible.
I always wondered like,
are they women sort of who are
writing a letter,
and then we interrupt them?
But clearly they like--
They don't mind us interrupting
them, because they both sort of
have a faint smile
on their faces.
I'd always wonder if both
of these artists
would do that in order to prompt
us to think that these women are
actually writing these letters
to us.
But again, that's my--
That's a question.
I'm not-- These paintings don't
come with manuals.
They're out there
to be interpreted.
Well, I think it is also
somewhat
of an unfair comparison,
actually.
Because the Vermeer is, to me,
one of my things I greatly
respond to as a work of art.
It's a National Gallery
painting, so that helps
in that regard.
[LAUGHTER]
But it's very
interesting in terms
of personalities
and artistic intent,
because I do think, as Adriaan
said, they're both looking up.
They've been interrupted somehow
or other.
And with Metsu, Metsu is always
somebody who likes activity.
Likes to make a story,
a narrative.
And so you see that the way she
holds her quill pen up
above the inkwell,
the little dog with one foot
resting.
It's kind of active.
It's sort of almost a surprise
that somebody has come in.
You feel this moment
with Vermeer.
On the other hand, there's
a different personality.
And that this is very
quietude of this figure
as she rests her hands very
quietly on the table
in a very triangular
pose comparable to what we're
talking about with the Berlin
woman with a pearl necklace.
Here, it's interesting
that Vermeer has situated
the figure in the context
of the furniture
and the painting on the wall.
And that's very interesting,
when you think about Vermeer
and pose and relationships
to the space around them, which
is, to me, crucial to his work,
that he consciously is thinking
about this all the time.
Here for example, the painting
on the back wall.
He's very carefully measured
that painting and how large it
should be.
And that it goes two thirds
of the way across,
and that blank wall
behind the woman is one third.
And vertically, it's one third,
one third, one third
of the painting, the table top,
and the table.
So he's thinking
proportionately.
And that very carefully placing
that figure in this very
structured world.
He also eliminates things.
So that the walls in Vermeer's
paintings, the blankness,
the emptiness in the wall,
is very important to helping
create this calmness
of the scene.
And the light and the dark
and the playing off
of those elements.
One wonderful example of how
carefully he thinks
through these elements.
And sort of the artificiality
of a lot of his paintings, a lot
of artificiality of warm light.
Actually, he manipulates light,
shape, scale, all sorts
of things.
But look on the table, the folds
of the blue tablecloth
on the far left.
I don't care how clever you are
with manipulating material.
You cannot fold something like
that.
[LAUGHTER]
You cannot do it.
But if you look at the shape
of that fold, it echoes exactly
the shape of her hand and arm
resting on the table.
And then that diagonal is also
picked up in the back
of the chair.
So you see this pattern
of repetition of that angle
across the picture.
So he's thinking all the time
about how these shapes work
to help orient the figure
related to the elements
around them.
Yeah, they're trying,
both of these artists.
And all of these artists
in the exhibition, they're
trying to find ways of luring
you in, of pleasing your eye.
But they just do it often
in a very different way.
That's what you just described.
It is a very clever way of how
Vermeer draws you in.
We have the Metsu there
with his dog in the bottom right
corner.
And he puts a dog in nearly
every painting.
And that tells me that he
clearly had success
with these dogs.
Because he was praised.
So at some point,
it becomes a bit of a trademark.
He always puts these dogs.
And there's very few artists
at the time who paint dogs so
wonderful as Metsu does.
So you would almost expect
that if these are portraits,
is that--
Mr. Metsu, would you mind
painting me?
But get me a dog.
[LAUGHTER]
Well, we've come
to the conclusion
that ter Borch does
the same kind of dog.
That they use the dog
for a week, and they send it
over to the other studio.
[LAUGHTER]
There can't be that many.
[LAUGHS]
Some more dogs, so.
[LAUGHS] One of the walls that I
love in the show is this one
that includes two ter Borchs.
The one on the left
was a beautiful painting
from Detroit of a lady
with a page.
And a little one in the middle
from the Rijksmuseum of Gesina
ter Borch again.
Seen from the back
by looking in a mirror.
Or seen through a mirror.
And then on the right,
a beautiful painting
by Gerrit Dou.
That's from Rotterdam.
And the connecting link
between these three paintings
is the use of the mirror
to engage the viewer.
Kind of another device.
And how that mirror
is used in different ways.
It's really,
I think, a fascinating aspect
of these paintings.
Yeah.
This is just one of these motifs
that suddenly pops up.
Because this is what
fascinated me
in these paintings.
That you see that one artist
comes up with one
of these devices that clearly
is very attractive.
And bang, you see it
in several other paintings
by several other artists
appearing straight away.
But they use it.
Of course, ter Borch uses it
in a very clever way.
I mean, the painting
in the middle, as you see,
is a woman from the back.
You can only see her face
in the mirror.
And she looks a little bit,
and I'm saying a little bit,
because we don't know,
which looked a bit worried
there.
That's how I feel.
Her eyes are so--
And then, the maid in the top
left corner, she looks almost
quite secure.
I think that what ter Borch is
a master at,
is giving you
few certain details,
and you need to finish
the narrative.
You need to sort of figure out
for yourself what's going on.
Without actually him--
And there are other artists that
really spell everything out.
But that's essentially no fun.
No.
No.
They're not in the show, either.
[LAUGHTER]
Well, yeah.
Jacob Ochtervelt is one
of the artists.
He's one of those that spells
things out for you too much.
I find-- So this is Gesina
again.
And I mentioned that before.
Ter Borch,
with this relationship
to Gesina,
takes us into the inner sanctum
of the home.
But he also is the first one
to introduce uncertainty.
So it goes in an inner life
of the figure that is now part
of it.
And using the mirror
is an incredible device,
because she has no clue that we
can see her reaction,
her uncertainty.
I mean, this is something that's
a fleeting moment.
And yet he does it.
Now, one
of the little fascinating
aspects
of this particular painting,
is that it was in our ter Borch
show in 2004, 2005.
I'm not sure what it was
exactly.
When it was here,
she was wearing the most
beautiful golden gown you could
ever imagine.
[LAUGHTER]
And when she returned after all
these years, she changed.
[LAUGHTER]
And I just thought you would be
interested to see a little nice
explanation of dirty varnish
and what it can do.
There was not a golden gown
at all.
It was
the same white, beautiful,
silvery white gown.
Satin gown.
But it had this rich layer
of dirty varnish on it.
Let this be a warning that you
shouldn't smoke pipe under it.
That's a truth.
[LAUGHTER]
No.
No pipes in the exhibition.
Yeah.
But it is interesting to go
through the show,
that many of the paintings
are incredibly well preserved
and in good condition.
But there are some paintings
in the exhibition that might
come back in the future time
looking different than they do
now.
[LAUGHS]
I find then with Dou,
because Dou clearly takes
that motif from ter Borch.
But I must say, that even
though I think that it's
a fantastic painting to Dou.
I think it's
one of his-- because Dou paints
a lot of, let's say,
kitchen maids,
and a little of older men
and women.
And this is sort of his most--
certainly not his only,
but his most sort of ter
Borchian high-life scene that he
paints over the course
of his career.
And also with the woman
with a maid who was working
diligently on her mistress.
But maybe you agree or disagree,
I just don't think that he isn't
able to use the mirror motif
as powerfully as ter Borch does.
Ah.
Well.
There might be a way in which it
functions better than you would
think viewing it
in the exhibition.
If you think about the fact
that this painting--
And this is an interesting issue
to think about all the way
through.
They're in their fancy frames,
and they're in exhibitions,
and on museum walls,
by and large in private home
walls.
How were they viewed
in the 17th century?
How were they exhibited?
What kind of world were they
part of?
And we happen to know
in this instance that,
and
with this particular painting,
but often with Dou paintings,
that they were painted
with the understanding
that they would be shown where
they would be enclosed
in a case.
So this exhibition of Dou
paintings
is the first monographic show
that I've ever heard of in,
what was it?
16--
1665.
'65.
In Leiden, you would pay
your couple of gilders,
you go in, and that would go
to the poor.
And you go in, and there was
like 25 or 27 paintings.
And I think 22 of them
were in boxes or something
like that.
So you go in the whole show,
you pay all this money,
now all you got is a bunch
of boxes on the wall.
But then, you could open
the doors, and you stand
in front of it, open this case.
And there would be
this glorious image that you
would have in front of you.
Now, I think this device
of the box
is very important for Dou,
because his painting style is so
detailed, that actually,
the magic of Dou
can only be understood when you
get up close.
From a distance, it's very hard
to hang a Dou painting
amongst other genre paintings
because you need to be closer
than you do with the others,
because they're so detailed.
But in this case,
the fact that you're opening
the doors locates you close
to the painting.
And that explains
the strange perspective
of that wine cooler.
That perspective only makes
sense if you're up close,
and you have the depth,
and you have the kind
of perspective,
works then from that distance
point.
But the other thing
is that, in terms of the mirror,
you are looking right
into that mirror.
She's looking right at you.
And so, she is, like, she's got
her hands up in front of her,
fixing her hair in profile.
But in the mirror,
she has this kind of little
"come hither" look to her,
and kind of engaging.
So there is a kind
of conscious positioning of that
mirror so that you, standing
there, oh.
Hi.
Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
You have this kind
of relationship that immediately
is established,
which is, I think, a very, very
powerful to me, that
when you put it
into that context.
Yeah, but the thing is I think,
it's a difference between ter
Borch and Dou.
Ter Borch is an artist who often
has the scenes that he depicts
are sort of closed.
And you as a viewer are often
sort of spying on what's
happening.
Of course, you are there.
With Dou, Dou often, of course,
paints these women.
I don't know if you know, Dou
paints with these sort
of open windows with these women
hanging out.
There clearly Dou--
Dressed.
Dressed, yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
But sometimes, they have objects
in their hand,
like fish and poultry that have
sort of meanings that are there.
They're just more than just
saying, hi.
And I think that this idea,
that this comparison
between these, the ter Borch
and the Dou,
here is very powerful.
Because here, again, this woman,
her first aim
is to establish contact with you
[WHISTLES] and lure you in.
Whereas ter Borch I think,
has this, for instance,
psychological--
Psychological.
Two visions of this woman
in the mirror.
Anyhow, go enjoy those.
Those are great paintings.
This is courtesy of Melanie
Gifford,
just to show you the detail.
This is a detail of the drapery
in the upper right.
Of course, a lot
of these paintings, the drapery
are interesting because they've
been pulled aside
in these paintings.
To allow you kind
of special access to the works.
But it's interesting to see
the difference in the handling
of details in a Dou and ter
Borch
in terms of the carpets that are
often depicted
in these paintings.
There are a lot of devices
artists use, with mirror being
one device, but another device
to kind of engage you
in the painting.
So you'll see that.
And this is one that in Dutch is
called doorkijke.
Those look through from one
space into another we want
to talk about.
Yeah.
I think that there are--
Again, this is a device that
sort of pops up in Dutch genre
painting.
And I think for the first time
in the probably late 50s,
early 1660s, and then suddenly,
it appears in a number
of paintings.
But it really is there to, even
if you don't want to be,
you're clearly made--
The painting prompts you to feel
that you're spying,
or that you're
in this outer space looking
into an adjacent space.
[LAUGHS]
And you're almost, like whenever
you stand in front
these paintings, you almost want
to stand still, because you
don't want to let the people,
let the figures that are-- they
know.
Really embarrassing if they
found out.
[LAUGHTER] And
But of course, I mean, what's
happening is of course,
what's happening in many
of these scenes.
It's just something
an interaction between figures
which relates to some sort
of love.
In the painting on the right
by de Hooch, this is clear,
a man who's trying to court
a woman.
He's opening the birdcage.
I assume, at the time,
a very straightforward
visual simile to suggest
that she needs to loosen up.
Loosen up, yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
And then the Vermeer,
she's this woman who's playing,
I think she's playing a sitar
if I'm not mistaken.
And this maid has just walked
in.
And she's there with a letter.
And I think it's actually--
It's only when I saw
this painting over and over
again in Dublin, when I looked
at it,
at the different facial
features.
I saw something in the love
letter, and tell me what you
think, which reminds me
of the early ter Borch
that we saw.
We see she receives this letter,
and she looks up
over her shoulder.
She looks this way.
And I think by having the pupils
of her eyes in the corner,
it's suggested that this a bit
worried.
Whereas the maid--
If I can imitate the maid.
Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
She stands, sorry, sort of
like this.
I think she was very firm.
It's almost as if these artists
play around with the idea of--
But maids always know what's
going on.
[LAUGHTER]
Exactly.
Yeah.
What's interesting here,
you have two paintings obviously
with knowledge of each other.
And with the Vermeer,
is from the late '60s in Delft.
The de Hooch is in the '70s
in Amsterdam.
But if you look at the elements,
the brooms, the music element
in the foreground,
everything about it in the case
that Pieter de Hooch clearly
knew the Vermeer,
and was inspired by that,
and made his own adaptation
of that.
So.
This is another element
from another wonderful wall
in the show.
Doors play a big role
all the way through
with the show,
but one
of the interesting things is,
what happens when somebody comes
in the room?
That's kind of another device.
The dynamics of a room
change when somebody walks in.
Somebody walks
through the threshold.
And so, that element
of the person coming in, then
what does it do?
It gives you an explanation
or justification for an activity
in that room.
So that's something else I think
to look for in the exhibition.
That element.
Yeah.
I think ter Borch, I mean,
we've already--
This is ter Borch on the right
here.
And in the middle, and on
the left is a Gabriel Metsu.
It's a Metsu, yeah.
And I think that ter Borch,
we've already praised ter Borch
a number of times
where
these psychological little
dynamics that he wants you
to have.
I think, he really introduced--
or maybe I shouldn't say
introduced-- but popularizes
the idea of this man entering
a room.
Because this also means there's
a change of action.
There's a change of--
And that clearly becomes
popular among several artists,
including Metsu.
And what Metsu does here is
in a way, he sort of shows
these two paintings by ter
Borch, he puts them into one
painting.
I don't know if you can see
this.
But he basically sort of,
painting the center gives him
the idea of having a woman
washing her hands.
Which he then puts essentially
in the painting on the left.
And the painting on the right,
there's a gentleman entering
the room.
And he takes that idea
and puts in the left
of his paintings.
And he sort of puts this thing
together.
But one clear difference
between the Metsu on the wall,
and the ter Borch
on the other hand,
is, of course,
the bright coloring.
I always think that he sort of
goes against any artistic color
law here.
Because he puts everything.
The tablecloth is red,
the chair is red, and her top is
red, and the bed is red,
and even the sleeve of the maid
is red.
It's just too much red.
[LAUGHTER]
But it does.
It does.
He clearly does it to do one
thing.
To attract attention.
And I think that actually,
that the Metsu is so
ter Borchian in character.
Although it has a clearly,
it has a stronger sort
of narrative.
There's a bit of a narrative
going in there.
Which is exactly what Metsu
likes.
He's sort
of these entertaining narratives
that also really appeal
to the 18th century French.
And I think that the Metsu is
sort of the same size as the ter
Borch.
And I sort of just wonder,
meaning that I don't know
the answer,
is that whether Metsu painted
that picture in direct sort
of competition
with the ter Borch.
Well, they certainly didn't hide
the relationship.
No.
Well, the painting on the right
is in the National Gallery.
Beautiful ter Borch,
The Suitor's Visit.
And the one on the left
in this slide
is the one we looked at briefly
with the mirror.
That's the painting
from Detroit.
And we had both these paintings
in the ter Borch show.
And I just thought this was
going to be interesting to bring
back, because they're
both from the same--
They're not in the same group
in this exhibition, but they're
in the same room.
So it's easy to compare them.
And you know?
And that's something that's
interesting to think about.
Going outside the groupings.
Instead of a maid here, this
is a, not totally artificial,
but there are paintings that
could be
in multiple different groups
because
of their various relationships.
But this was very
interesting,
because in the exhibition,
I wanted to hang these paintings
side by side in the ter Borch
show, because they have exactly
the same white dress.
Satin dress.
Fold for fold,
wrinkle for wrinkle,
shimmer for shimmer.
[LAUGHTER]
Absolutely identical.
And there's no way the fabrics
could--
You can't paint that from life
because they keep moving.
[LAUGHTER]
So I thought, oh, that'd really
cool, put them together.
And then it turned out
that the Detroit painting is
bigger than the Gallery's
painting.
So it's like a third bigger.
So not only is there a cartoon,
must be a cartoon that this
used, but he had some way
to expand that cartoon to make
it larger.
But anyhow, I think you'll enjoy
looking at that.
So I think it is really
interesting.
Think back, you know, we talked
a little bit about how did
these artists make
these paintings?
And that's part of what
the exhibition is about as well.
But it's more in relationships
from one artist to another.
But still, within one artist
here, it's also
fascinating to kind of look
at these.
All right.
This is a fun thing that has
been part of our dialogue
over the years.
And that is the question
of pendant paintings.
Relationships, letter writer,
letter receiver, read here.
I want you to soften this.
Yeah.
The two paintings at the top
are by ter Borch.
They're from the late '50s.
And they're what I would
describe relatively
stereotypical pendants.
Because they are two things
that really complement
each other, and it's very clear.
There's a little narrative going
on.
The officer in the painting
on the top left, he's writing
a letter.
And a messenger is waiting.
And then clearly the letter
is intended for the woman
on the right.
She's read the letter.
And she is now holding a wax
stick in the flame of a candle
to seal her response.
It's a love letter for sure
because ace of hearts
on the floor.
It's ace of hearts on the floor
and it is very clear.
And the other, a brother
and sister exchanging shopping
lists.
[LAUGHTER]
In the painting on the right,
the blue tablecloth contrasts
with the red shirt there.
And in the left painting,
the table is red and contrasting
with the blue jacket.
And also if you look
at the main figures,
they are seated on the inside.
And then there are
certain figures are
on the outside.
And so, there are two paintings
that belong to each other.
Now, the interesting thing is,
that the paintings below are
by Metsu, and Metsu clearly drew
inspiration from these paintings
in terms of their subjects.
The idea of putting
the correspondence between a man
and a woman
in the form of two pendants.
I mean, there is no doubt
in my mind that Metsu knew
the paintings by ter Borch.
But of course, again,
these artists changed things.
And one of the things that Metsu
does is that he, while taking
the subject of ter Borch's
paintings as an example,
he changes it into a very Metsu,
Vermeer like style.
But we don't know.
And in the ter Borch
it's, to me, pretty clear
that the way that you see them
now is the way that they should
be hung.
The man on the left.
And the two men on the left,
and the two women on the right.
The painting with Metsu,
because he changes
the compositions
of these paintings.
It becomes far less clear
as to which painting is
on the left,
and which painting is
on the right.
So I could, I mean, we could
easily say, take your pick.
You know?
It's up to you.
I tend to hang them in Dublin
in the ter Borchian way,
meaning, the man on the left
and the woman on the right.
I have hung them once, also,
the way--
And I ultimately--
I can't make up my mind
about this.
And I certainly, I'm going
to argue.
But I do know that Arthur does
have a view on this.
So I pass on the microphone
to Arthur.
[LAUGHTER]
Well, this has been a lot
of fun.
And this is one
of these little discoveries that
happened during the exhibition.
Typically, in the show,
we're so interested mirrors, all
these mirrors happening.
And so, one of the things
in the lady reading from Dublin
is that, I have never been
able to figure out how come
I don't see the back of her head
in that reflection
in the mirror.
And it finally dawned on me,
the only way you could see
that reflection, which now I've
figured out,
is the window to her left.
It's if you stand to the right
of the painting, and you look
diagonally, as though you were
looking diagonally
at the painting from the right,
the mirror then would be
reflecting the window.
And there's no way on earth
that you would stand
to the right of the painting
if that painting were
on the right of this pendant.
So, by doing it standing
to the right,
means you're standing
between the lady and the gent.
So that to me is an argument.
I consider it
a scientific argument.
[LAUGHTER]
But it's been fun.
This is one of the things
that, when you have a show,
it is so cool.
Where you sort of find things
that make you--
I would also make the--
It would also make the narrative
a bit more interesting
in the sense
that you would like--
if you make it because--
I tend to read these paintings,
and forgive me for doing so,
a little bit in sort
of left to right Western world
narrative way.
In a sense that the woman is
in reading the letter before.
But of course, these people
exchange these letters.
Right.
OK.
Now, we're running a little
late, so I want to move on.
It's just a boring painting
from Dublin.
Yeah.
[LAUGHTER]
Yeah.
You did want it though.
[LAUGHTER]
[APPLAUSE]
You got it.
You're right.
Absolutely.
Previously, you were talking
about maids and mistresses.
And how these artists,
and certainly Vermeer, plays
with this idea, this hierarchy
between ladies
and our mistresses.
And what I always very much like
about this painting
is that, the title
of the painting
is Woman Writing a Letter
With Her Maid.
And of course, suggesting
that the lady is sort
of the most important person
performing the most important
activity in the painting.
But Vermeer clearly put
the maid full length right
in the center.
And that is just,
it's so obvious that he wants us
to trigger.
He wants us to actually think
about that.
Anyway, this painting has one
enigmatic element in there,
which I still don't understand
fully,
and would welcome any views
on that.
And that's the painting
in the top right corner.
And how does this painting
relate to what's happening
in front?
Now, I tend to explain
this painting as a woman writing
a love letter
for the simple reason--
The painting depicts Moses being
found in the bulrushes.
Yeah.
And I would tend to see what's
kind of happening
in the foreground
as a woman sort of writing
a love letter,
because nearly every letter
in Dutch genre painting
is a love letter.
So even if Vermeer did not
intend to paint a woman writing
a love letter, his audience
seeing his painting probably
would have assumed that this was
a love letter.
But then what does the finding
of Moses have to do with that?
I can see, for example,
there is, of course, the two
figures in the painting.
The Pharaoh's daughter, and then
the figure on the left,
do correspond with the maid.
Seem to correspond with the maid
and the woman writing a letter.
But even that doesn't--
Well, I think it's
important right off the bat
to mention that Vermeer starts
his career as a history painter.
Painter of Biblical mythological
scenes.
And those subjects all have--
they're painted because they
have a resonance in terms of how
one behaved.
What is the moral authority?
So we have to understand Vermeer
was very involved
from the beginning.
So what is the story?
What is the meaning?
There was a moral and ethical
underpinning
to these Biblical mythological
paintings that are crucial to,
I think, his work
throughout his genre career as
well.
And so the idea that you have
abstract ideas in a painting
reflected,
depicted in a painting
on the back wall, clearly must
fall within that realm
of thought.
The finding of Moses
has a lot
to do with divine providence,
and that knowing that somebody
will be--
that God will watch out and care
for you.
So I think if we don't try
to get much beyond that,
at least that is such
a universal interpretation
of that story,
that I think we can leave it
there at the moment.
But I don't think we have time
to get into the nuances of that.
But I think it's important.
It's very important for figuring
it out.
Even if we don't know.
What we do know, also, it's
very interesting, is that there
is a letter in the foreground
with a torn off wax
seal on the floor.
And what is that all about?
What has she thrown-- that
doesn't--
You don't see that in Dutch art.
Why do you throw off a letter?
And there's some sort
of emotional, something happened
within the course of time.
Anyhow, I want to move
on a little bit,
because what's
interesting in The Astronomer,
which we looked at before
from the Louvre,
on the back wall,
is also a painting, much smaller
than the painting in the Dublin
Vermeer.
But it's exactly
the same painting.
It's exactly the same painting.
The same subject.
So it is just to remind you,
you can't trust these guys.
[LAUGHTER]
They're painting, they're making
paintings.
They're not painting reality
there.
So what size was that painting
in real life?
Vermeer had his proportions.
He wanted that, for whatever
reason, compositionally to adapt
it.
This is true of textures,
it's true of light,
it's true of every element
of his paintings.
He's manipulating, changing,
and making a painting
because there's thought.
There's a careful thought
underlying it.
And trying to figure out what is
there is really part of the joy
of working with these works.
But this is just that
both of these paintings
from the show, you can sort of
see them right in the same room.
So it's kind of fun.
Adriaan had a very fascinating
thing that we were talking about
earlier.
This one.
Yeah, this was a bit
of a struggle.
And we would-- any thoughts
on this are actually very
welcome.
The painting on the left
is by Gabriel Metsu of a man
writing a letter.
And in the very typical Vermeer
like style.
I mean, he must have traveled
to Delft from Amsterdam
at some point to see works
by Vermeer.
And traditionally, it was
thought that the most likely
painting that he must have seen
in Delft
was The Astronomer, which
is similar,
a man sitting behind a chair,
sitting behind a desk
near a window in a format
that we mostly know from women
essentially in front of all
these windows.
And so this was seen as sort
of a logical Metsu
looking at Vermeer.
The problem here is that Metsu
dies in 1667.
The painting on the left
must date from 1664, 1666.
Because in '67,
he paints actually very
different things.
Whereas the Vermeer is dated
1668.
So we have something odd going
on, because this is ultimately,
the Vermeer's ultimately
the first painting of him,
of a man in the same format
as we see.
So what's going on here?
The short answer is, I don't
know.
[LAUGHTER]
Are these paintings in any way
related?
Or is it just happens to be
coincidental that these artists,
a few years after each other,
paint these two
men near windows?
We just don't know.
Yeah.
It's unfortunate when things are
dated like that.
[LAUGHS]
[INAUDIBLE]
But anyhow, these paintings
are wonderful, The Geographer
and The Astronomer.
And they are unusual in Vermeer
in that they do focus
on scientists.
And we know that they--
What's interesting,
you have the astronomer working
with celestial globe,
and the terrestrial globe.
And the geographer is up above.
But they have both globes that
come from the same,
they are part of a pair.
You have scientific instruments
on the table that are
appropriate
for both professions.
And so, there is some knowledge
base to the choices of objects
in these paintings that relate
very specifically
to these paintings.
And I think that's very
important to understand.
I am convinced that these two
figures both depict
the same individual.
And I feel very strongly
that that individual is Antonie
van Leeuwenhoek, who is mostly
famous to the world as being
a microscopist who made
many wonderful discoveries
through his microscopes.
But before he was
a microscopist, he was, in fact,
a geographer, an astronomer,
and a sort of surveyor.
And so they write about him.
So he was, in fact-- he was born
the same year as Vermeer.
He's listed on the same page
of the birth register.
He executes Vermeer's estate
later after his death.
And they're both involved
with the families involved
in textile.
So there are
many, many parallels
in these works.
So I don't think
that Leeuwenhoek maybe
commissioned these works,
but I'm sure that he was
the model.
And so it's very exciting
to have them think about that.
And what makes this day very
special as well, is that Dr.
and Mrs. Tomás Camacho have come
from Spain to join us today.
They're right here.
Would you please stand up
for us?
The reason I'm--
[APPLAUSE]
- Introducing them,
is they are collectors
of microscopes.
And they own a microscope that
they brought with them
of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek's.
[AUDIENCE GASPS]
So this is a very special moment
for all of us that you are here.
And this is--
[APPLAUSE]
It's not real big.
[LAUGHS]
You've got to have good eyes
and a lot of patience.
It's like a lacemaker.
So anyhow.
Thank you very much
for your presence,
and for bringing
this great treasure of yours.
Thank you.
I just want to end
with this wonderful comparison
we mentioned before,
because the great painting
of the Gallery's Woman
with Balance,
who is rather
similar to the lady standing
with the pearl necklace
that we saw earlier on.
But here with the context
of the objects in the room
adds a very dimension.
In the context that we had
discussed about Vermeer
as a history painter,
providing a moral and ethical
underpinnings to his works.
I think this painting is so
fascinating,
because the borderline
between genre and allegory
is very interesting in Vermeer.
Where does it fall?
And this painting falls
a little bit more
in the allegory side, probably,
than in the genre.
She is standing-- we've done
a lot of technical examinations
of this with a microscope.
She is standing there
in the corner of her room
holding a balance in her hand-
which, after a lot of research,
turns out is empty.
It's not the woman wearing gold,
woman wearing pearls, woman
wearing gold against pearls.
It is empty.
She is waiting for that balance
to come to rest.
And she stands there in front
of a table with jewelry box
with gold and pearls strands
over it,
and in front of a painting
of the Last Judgment.
Light comes in.
It's a wonderful way light comes
and sweeps down around the room,
is caught by her hand,
and is pulled up
by the gold bands
on the frame that kind of
encompasses that woman.
She is standing there very much
aware that she lives in a world
with temporal treasures of gold
and pearls.
But there will be
the eventual Last Judgment that
will befall her, as all of us.
And her necessity in life
is to figure out a way
to balance those two worlds,
those two extremes.
We're living within this world
of sensual pleasure, treasures
around,
and eventual last judgment.
So it is very much what I
consider with Vermeer, core
of who he is as an artist,
is that necessity of balancing
one's actions in life,
thinking about that and it's
importance.
And here again, she stands
there.
She will never move.
She is-
[LAUGHTER]
Her hand
is right at the junction
of the vertical
and the horizontal
of the picture frame.
Her hand
is right at the vanishing point
at the perspective system.
Her hand is right in the middle
of the visual center
of that painting.
There's no way she's ever going
to move.
She is locked in space.
So the sense of permanence
and timelessness, that is so
crucial to making that point.
So essential.
Pieter de Hooch must have known
the Vermeer, or Vermeer knew de
Hooch.
They're painted
about the same time.
Amsterdam, Delft.
We still don't know who saw
which.
It's argued in some places
in the catalogue one way,
and argued some places
in the catalogue the other way.
But it's interesting that she is
leaning forward, different body
language.
She is weighing gold
versus silver against the wall
of gilded leather wallpaper.
Very much active in managing
her household.
But it is a scene, more
of a genre scene thus, and not
with the sort
of allegorical underpinnings
that are so crucial to Vermeer.
I think that it's the end
of the show.
It's kind of a wonderful kind
of culmination of the kind
of stories that we have shown.
One last thing, I mentioned Rick
Johnson, who is here.
He has done all this work
on weave threads
and figuring out which paintings
were from which bolt of cloth.
In fact, in the show, these two
paintings
come from the same bolt
of cloth.
That Rick has published.
And that is one of them.
Rick's book that has just been
published.
But it's also,
there is a wonderful array
of programs here at the Gallery,
websites and features
of small articles
about genre painting,
and of its different elements.
Much of which has been organized
by Jen Henel and Kristen
Gonzalez.
So they're website there.
There will be gallery talks.
There will be all sorts
of programs here at the Gallery
connected to the show.
We encourage you all to take
part of it.
Come back and see the show
as much as you can.
And thank you so much
for your attention
this afternoon.
[APPLAUSE]
