The mysterious Vermeer - The secret behind a 350-year-old painting | DW Documentary

a deceptively simple image jan vermeer's girl reading a letter at an open window from 1657 standing just beyond the curtain she seems peaceful at one with herself and the moment the letter hints at the presence of the world outside and into this calm intimate moment a figure intrudes a naked cupid the god of love and desire was detected in an x-ray analysis decades ago but was largely ignored by the art world now he's made a dramatic re-entrance new restoration made clear that the cupid had been painted over by another artist after vermeer's death the revelation made headlines around the world the german museum that owns the painting the old masters picture gallery or gemelde gallery in dresden decided to uncover the figure so long concealed this really is unique it basically means rewriting vermeer scholarship a sensational outcome after years of research for centuries people have been fascinated by the enigmatic paintings of jan vermeer his works have long defied definitive interpretation and that has made the artist the subject of highly contentious debates among the world's art scholars in dresden a well-funded team of internationally renowned vermeer experts got to work using cutting-edge technology they got remarkable results what started out as the restoration of a single painting has led to the radical transformation of an iconic image it was the art historical equivalent of open heart surgery the removal of a layer of paint revealed a cupid and provided plenty of food for thought you have this iconic painting that has imprinted itself in our collective consciousness now it's no longer there it's been replaced by another painting are you one of those who are attracted by the unknown and unrecognized are you curious about mystery and reality about shadow and light the two extremes of both art and life at the museum in the hague a superb and utterly unique painting stops all visitors in their tracks it makes a lasting impression on artists and connoisseurs alike it's the view of the town of delft by these are the words of the man who rediscovered vermeer in 1865. in the nearly two centuries after the painter's death his work had fallen into obscurity we don't know a lot about vermeer he's known as the sphinx of delft because we know so little about his life he lived in delft which is a town in the netherlands and he had lots of children more than 10 children so how he got time to paint i don't know known as jan or johannes vermeer is the most famous son of delft the city where he spent his entire life he was born here in 1632 an era later called the dutch golden age a time of unprecedented prosperity for the netherlands when the arts and sciences flourished along with international trade in total jan vermeer's legacy amounts to just 37 paintings but each of them is a masterpiece and guaranteed ticket seller for any exhibition all of them were produced in delft vermeer lived on voldesgracht for many years right around the corner from the saint lucas artists guild of which he was a member he moved homes just once and thus lived his whole life within a radius of 100 meters today that tiny patch of delft draws vermeer fans from around the world vermeer only ever painted two exterior views the rest of his works depict interiors the outside world is present only in the light that pours in through lead glass windows vermeer's compositions are a camera obscura in the truest sense darkened chambers with light entering from one solitary point spaces characterized by a feeling of intimacy and concealment they arouse in the viewer and urge to unravel a mystery his paintings are a three-dimensional experience [Music] vermeer conjured up fleeting moments with a power that enthralls no adherent of strict realism he frequently changed the scale and form of objects many of his pictorial elements were inspired by the well-to-do homes of the burgeoning dutch middle class the perspective geometry of the floor tiles items from everyday life an artist with an imagination that opened up new horizons and vermeer's very particular palette of colors which hailed in part from more exotic climes and this is the blue pigment called indigo that would have come from far away either in asia or from the west indies this is a yellow pigment called weld that is made from a plant that probably grew in the netherlands and when these two colors were mixed together it would have made a transparent green a new style of painting incorporating the technological marvels of the time john vermeer's friendship with a lens grinder from delft introduced him to optical innovations like the camera obscura in vermeer's imagination the camera obscura was like the eye its lens the pupil its screen the retina a peat box that cast images onto the wall this was also the dawn of a new age in art one that filled a vacuum a hundred years after the reformations destructive iconoclasm [Music] in 1566 protestant iconoclasts christians who saw depictions of religious figures as blasphemous destroyed paintings in churches across delft [Music] they also rebelled against the curtains that had traditionally been draped across the church's holiest and most revered paintings to protect them from the masses [Music] the painted curtain would eventually become a motif in its own right deployed once again by various dutch painters in the mid-17th century [Music] rembrandt was the first to paint the frame complete with curtain right into the picture in this field of undone list this is also so the exterior curtain now becomes a motif motif an illusionary trick called tromploy literally meaning deception of the eye on the results you could also see it as us the viewers being deceived because we see the image of a curtain which invites us to try and see behind it but that desire to see more about what's hidden behind the curtain is not just about some other world or a view from a window metaphorically it's about wanting to see more through the medium of art [Music] it can be interpreted as the genesis of art appreciation at the peak of the golden age dutch artists were producing 70 000 paintings a year a prolific rate unprecedented in the history of art it's very apt for the 17th century a time where concepts of time and space were being revolutionized up to that point the world was considered to be in god's hands and predetermined but in the 17th century people began to see themselves as self-determining jan vermeer's paintings are and remain superbly devised invitations to explore new worlds for me what i love about this painting is that it's such a small room but the longer you look at it the more expansive the room becomes it opens up this early work from 1657 already incorporates vermeer's core elements the use of light the transient moment the suggestion of a narrative [Music] it sparks your fantasy and imagination suddenly you're in a different world just as the woman reading is in another world one of various worlds brought to life by johannes vermeer interiors where the fourth wall is cast aside as vermeer gives us moments of intimacy for the ages yet for a time vermeer's work was forgotten until a rediscovery in dresden [Music] augustus iii king of poland and elector of saxony military commander and one of the greatest art patrons of his time a man with visionary plans they included the creation of an art gallery so grand all of europe would hear of it the king had a series of paintings ready for the collection initially they were housed in what were still in the 17th century the royal stables and so this is where the gallery was established [Music] the royal gallery essentially became a proto museum a temple of art open to all a presentation of his majesty's good taste or the monarch as arbiter deciding which works were worthy of display [Music] augustus iii was a real connoisseur he took an active interest in painting and was directly involved in the acquisitions he made although the major hubs of the fine art trade were some distance away the 17th century saw a veritable frenzy of art collecting both in italy and france and especially in paris on the flourishing french market the principal buyers were cardinals royalty the aristocracy the clergy and monasteries purchasing via correspondence with their agents on the spot collectors hosted the first public exhibitions of contemporary art by the 18th century auctions were already playing a major role in paris art dealers first began to emerge old documents paint a vivid picture of how augustus was able to build up his unique collection the emissaries from saxony dispatched an alert to dresden about the impending sale of an important collection dutch and flemish artists were producing paintings of the highest quality but augustus's agents in paris were after something else the prized collection of victor amadeus the first of savoy the prince of kang young when the prince of carignano died in france in 1741 the chief concern for augustus was his collection of italian paintings which is why he sent his agents to paris the market was a highly competitive one with the kings of france and portugal among the bidders augustus employed a range of art savvy experts and a flemish conservator in total he managed to acquire thirty paintings from the kangrion collection spending a fortune in the process [Music] we can see here which paintings from the famous prince of carignano collection went from paris to saxony and the most prominent among them was a gift meaning granted on top of the trade so a present [Music] among the many paintings received by your excellency one is by rembrandt rembrandt represent depicting a young girl reading across from a window [Music] is due solely to the painted curtains the curtain was a key element of the masterpiece an invitation to take a closer look at the scene this means that by adding a painted curtain rembrandt was declaring this painting of his to be a masterpiece it was a gift to a prince so it had to be valuable and who was the most celebrated dutch painter rembrandt and that for me is the reason why this painting which was obviously very valuable ended up going to dresden as a rembrandt [Music] so after being given the list of paintings the king said i want that one that one and that one then he told his chief emissary in paris to verify an essential question authenticity transportation was another issue would the wet autumn weather create problems what about the temperature and could the paintings be rolled up in a cylinder eventually the paintings from the kaoiong collection arrived in dresden there they were soon put on display in the king's new museum [Music] one picture was kept from public view the one given to the king as a present the girl reading a letter was placed in the king's chambers the painting was now part of an exclusive and illustrious group one that included the very best of dutch painting a privileged position [Music] shrouded in mystery it was hidden away in the private rooms of the ruler of saxony and poland measuring 83 by 64 and a half centimeters this everyday scene by a dutch master graced the king's cabinet room being an integral part of the palace's ceremonial apartments access to the cabinet was obviously restricted a room where the king could retreat alone or with guests to contemplate his paintings at pleasure the paintings there were almost exclusively dutch and flemish works depicting generic scenes it's a constructed intimacy [Music] when we treat this spirit entering this picture is not straightforward you first have to go past the curtain then across the rook and suddenly there you are now you're part of events although events is almost incorrect as nothing is actually happening there is no story [Music] all you see is this woman completely absorbed in what she's doing what might she be reading her concentrated face is reflected in the window how does this woman feel imprisoned or free like the world beyond her window questions that retain their fascination to this day by 1765 the painting had left the king's private rooms and could now be seen in dresden's gemelde gallery gallery the gallery in dresden is on par with the louvre in terms of the quality of the paintings this was also true in the 18th century france's royal collection in the louvre was completely inaccessible to the public at this time the gallery opened in 1746 anyone any artist student or baker and we know this from the visitor records could go inside a feast of gold and color accessible to all regardless of their social class or origins [Music] so all the artists who used to make the journey to modena and rome now had to go to dresden [Music] augustus iii's passion for art extended far beyond the borders of saxony the birth of this now legendary collection would always be associated with the monarch dresden is still referred to as the florence of the north a home for art a celebration of beauty in the form of a public collection for everyone to see [Music] in 1775 the camalde gallery issued a new catalogue the gamelda gallery had a conveniently small book easily accessible for visitors that was characteristic and suddenly the vermeer so that marked the official entry of this painting into the gamelda gallery and how it was inducted into the history of art [Music] rediscovering vermeer for the art world this was etienne josef teofield torres quest he would spend almost 10 years of his life tracking down the sphinx of delft as he called the artist torrei traveled frequently between the hague and brussels and later to berlin braunschweig and vienna he examined various collections recommending the superlative dutchman's works to his wealthy friends and newcomers to the art market a painter who was still relatively unknown due to the small number of his works [Music] other people had helped to identify vermeer's paintings but credit for truly resurrecting the painter's legacy goes to torrei [Music] guided by comments written by a berlin museum director torrey's journey eventually took him to dresden [Music] there in the royal gallery of augustus iii torrei was able to identify two works by jan vermeer a triumph [Music] among all the old masters on the walls with these two he recognized something ineffable he'd seen it in all the other vermeer paintings in brussels berlin and vienna they had been painted by the hand of vermeer [Music] vermeer leaves a great deal in his paintings open and unresolved he works with nuances and in general with subtle modifications with what we call the atmospheric and in doing so he entices us into this atmosphere in a way he introduces ambiguity and coaxes our imagination so that we think there's something unresolved there we want to take a better look to find out more you start bringing this picture to life in your mind when it comes to the relationship between a work of art and its observer what could be better imagination abby vanderveer has spent years examining what is indisputably one of the most famous paintings in the history of art vermeer's girl with the pearl earring a painting that's been celebrated on the big screen interpreted and reinterpreted over the centuries by a host of observers from the church to royalty art historians and museum directors today scientific experts deploy state-of-the-art analysis really we wanted to see with these new technologies and with a group of international researchers with lots of different equipment and lots of different expertise bringing them all together and find out how much we could find out about the painting as a whole and from that some amazing discoveries came up that we hadn't even expected from the beginning [Music] modern technology shifting the narrative when it comes to old masterpieces the new technological options are tantalizing with their promise to let us take a peek over the artist's shoulder during the process of creation [Music] [Music] [Music] we um took the painting off of her usual spot here on the wall and brought her to the golden room of the mountain's house on a specially built easel inside a glass enclosure and within that enclosure over a two week period scientists and their equipment were used to examine the painting today scientific analyses routinely use a wide range of imaging devices such as x-rays and infrared reflectography microscopic examinations and even invasive microscopic procedures take place in sterile laboratories and sometimes in full view of the public it was important for us to keep the painting visible to the public because this is a very important painting that the public love very much after all who doesn't love the painting dubbed the mona lisa of the north the girl with the blue turban and that irresistible glint in her eye and of course the earring a mere whisper of white vermeer's masterpiece has practically become a pop culture event with modern discoveries drawing a new generation of visitors we knew from samples that were taken in the 1990s that originally the background had a different color that on top of a black under layer vermeer applied a glaze that contains two pigments one of them blue indigo and one of them yellow called weld so this glaze this transparent layer on top would have been a very dark green but then in the top right corner we discovered some diagonal lines so with this information and the knowledge now that these pigments these yellow and blue pigments were used makes us now realize that the background was originally a green curtain the lost green curtain the tension between concealment and revelation it draws us in now what had begun with an x-ray analysis four decades ago was set to be resolved the initial discovery was ignored by international art scholars who assumed the overpainting had been done by vermeer himself but had it among the experts who advised augustus iii agents in paris was a flemish man who was both a painter and a restorer and he was famous for his talent for restoring repainting and touching up works including those of flemish and dutch painters we know that he also restored a number of paintings from the carignano collection prior to their we can't say of course whether the girl reading a letter was one of these but it's a legitimate assumption perhaps um artists or restorers who came along later wanted to sort of update the paintings to appeal more to the sensibilities of the time so for instance young a woman reading a letter at an open window perhaps in the time that it was overpainted they wanted to the viewer to concentrate on the stillness the beauty the concentration of the woman and not be distracted by the cupid behind her why it was overpainted remains a point of speculation and will never be precisely explained for me it seems like a subsequent correction and if you look at his later paintings he largely leaves out allegorical editions like this perhaps some connoisseur of vermeer's work said nah he never would have painted it like that in his later period let's correct it as he would have and erase this fresco in the back in 2019 the gemelda gallery created the art sensation of the year the picture had a new feature cupid the god of love and desire argentina when we decided to restore the girl reading a letter we made use of all available analytical techniques and to a great surprise we realized that this overpainting was not by vermeer but must have been done several decades later by someone else the painting was bought and brought to dresden as a rembrandt but this strange and rowdy cupid in the background would have been out of place in a rembrandt a revelation a more colorful playful side to vermeer but what would the experts say an international team gathered to hear the man in charge of restoration explain what our strategy for the restoration seeks to do is to put the painting in the condition in which it might have left the artist's studio initially it was a shock but this opens up whole new avenues of interpretation unquestionably exposing the cupid figure gives the picture a far clearer message [Music] conversely you can also ask why the so-called original is so important why go back sure you can say because this was how vermeer painted it but if we now claim to be capable of recreating the original picture we would have to first learn to see things as they did in the 17th century there is the tendency to have to weigh the historical value of changes that have happened to an object over time versus the artist's original intention and is it important to preserve those historical changes or to bring back a painting as close as it was to when vermeer painted it it's a debate that now accompanies the work of jan vermeer like a shadow [Music] that decision was also a brave one with a previous history going back to 1979 people knew after the x-ray that there was something underneath they could have said yes we do know about the overpainting and what used to be hidden behind it and are happy to pass on that knowledge but we can still live with how it's been for centuries because that's also a part of its history and now this overpainting is in turn being erased so removing the paint is tantamount to a raising history in my experience people are really excited when there is a new discovery about a painting that they have known for a long time but on the other hand there are also people who have known the painting to look this way for a very long time for hundreds of years this painting has looked this way and it's going to take a certain amount of time to um get used to how it looks now and to really rethink what this means within vermeer's in earthquake you could always return it to that condition but it's now being liberated with a scalpel that was used to scrape off the layers another pleasant effect is that the colors now radiate a completely different vibrancy the beautiful thing about the vermeer painting as it was until now is that it allows us to develop our own ideas on it you could talk about vermeer appealing to mature viewers an appeal to our sense of mystery perhaps this explains the enduring fascination exerted by the works of jan vermeer an artist who used enigma to stimulate viewers imagination by leaving so many interpretations open vermeer can be seen as offering up a fundamentally democratic perspective in his art and it was a king in dresden who was one of the first in europe to open up this world to his subjects his public gallery gave everyone the opportunity to contemplate art [Music] augustus iii is famous for being a real lover of painting this is illustrated in an anecdote about the sistine chapels madonna by raphael this painting had been acquired in italy after very complex negotiations that took about a year and then it finally arrives in dresden it was carried into the throne room where the king himself single-handedly pushes his throne to one side and says make way for the great raphael the king made way for art jan von demer or yawn of the sea as he was sometimes called a painter who left vacant spaces in his art to spur our imaginations a tantalizing promise of freedom [Music] vermeer's masterpieces ended up in museums which have always served both as cultural arbiters and oasis of free thinking every day thousands of people view his paintings works originally intended only for private consumption by prosperous citizens of 17th century delft adorning the dark walls of dutch townhouses but what is it that we see in his art and what role do museums play today are these traditional sanctuaries of independent thinking becoming increasingly compromised [Music] if we look at the present and the current culture wars we see ethics becoming increasingly important and artistic liberty no longer enjoying the same automatic respect that it used one notable example is the sachi gallery in london it had a series of high profile scandals where the point was always to stir up the audience in order to generate headlines and visitor numbers and suddenly we had the case of two paintings going on display that was so outrageous and problematic for some people that the gallery ended up deciding to cover them up you could even call it the vermeer effect due to the sudden boom in interest that's the dialectical logic in all of these current conflicts the artists who are supposed to be banished and taken down now enjoy an amazing amount of attention making them a lot more popular so what this repressing or even removing of things leads to is if anything people really starting to talk about these poems or paintings are we seeing a contemporary revival of the iconoclasts museums are increasingly becoming cultural battlegrounds as debates rage over what should be shown many museums have their roots in a monarchic system today their narrative authority is compromised [Music] i believe the future lies in an evolving public field growing social diversity digital natives and the alternative perspectives they bring [Music] and we have to provide this public with a meaningful framework but here the old masters can play a special role they've been an anchor over generations they provide continuity passing on both love and knowledge after spending 300 years in our collective consciousness girl reading a letter has been consigned to history making way for new interpretations the unveiling of the cupid makes the genre of the letter clear but questions remain um is this a faithful love a veno the form of love remains ambivalent and enigmatic the obvious symbolism connected to the playing card is covered up by the painted curtains and this is the root of the ambiguity and the mystery that then remains [Music] the eternal mystery of a love story revealed now by the uncovering of a cupid should some things remain secret what does art history stand to gain a new vermeer the original artwork a new debate the mystery of vermeer will continue to beguile us that much is certain you

Channel: DW Documentary

Views: 534,592

Keywords: Documentary, Documentaries, documentaries, DW documentary, full documentary, DW, documentary 2022, documentary, Vermeer, painting, art, Cupido, Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister Dresden, Baroque

Id: fRksIesMgww

Length: 42min 27sec (2547 seconds)

Published: Thu Aug 11 2022