Transcript Symbolic Economies” and the Origin of Language

The Aesthetic Development of an
Artist
Johan Vermeer (1632-1675)
Wolfgang Wildgen
(Bremen, Germany)
September 11th, 15:00 to 16:00
Sozopol September 11th, 15:00-16:00
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Contents
1.
2.
3.
4.
From religious art to genre painting
From popular genre pictures to middle
class interieurs
From intime interieurs to intellectual
portraits (types)
From interieurs to „exterieurs“
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First Category: Religious Art
1655: Jesus in the house of
Maria and Martha
•Triangular constellatation with
Jesus at the right side of the
triangle.
•Vector of sight line to Martha
•Vector of hand gesture to
Maria.
•Theological significance of the
duality: world activity (Martha)
– reflection (faith) (Maria)
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Second Category : both religious and civil
Dual interpretations:
1. Pregant woman–virgin
Mary.
2. Weighting pearls –
weighting souls
(reference to the painting
in the background).
3. Light from the window –
conception by the Holy
Spirit (classical
iconography of the
annunciation)
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Third Category: Interieurs
The concert
Woman with
pearls
Woman with lute
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At first view this
picture fits the series
of interieurs; but if
we assume that the
painter in the scene is
Vermeer himself, then
a type of
autoreferentiality
would be introduced.
As the other pictures
describe scenes which
might have happened
in Vermeer‘s
household, this
picture is a natural
continuation of above
mentioned series.
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Third category : Spatial complexity of
interieurs
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Conclusions
1.
2.
3.
Stylistic attractors are given by categories :

Religious painting (standard narrative)

Middle class interieurs

Spatial representations (different rooms,
houses, town).
Dominant style changes in the artistic
environment.
Religious and social motives.
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End
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Sozopol September 11th, 15:00-16:00
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