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Vermeer: The Complete Works
Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), one of the great masters of the Dutch Golden Age, is among the world's best-loved artists. The poetry of Vermeer's painting, with its brilliant colors, exquisite textures, and pearly light effects, is as vivid to us today as it must have been to people of the artist's own time. This beautiful book illustrates every known work by Vermeer in full color. Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr., Curator of Northern Baroque Painting at the National Gallery of Art has written an illuminating essay on the artist and commentaries on the paintings.
72 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
August 6, 2014
THE JAN VERMEER/NICK DRAKE PARALLEL
The brilliant painter Jan Vermeer lived a short life - 1632-75 and knocked out 34, maybe 35 paintings. The earliest is dated 1655 when he was 23 so that was a production rate of 1.75 per year from then on. Not great. When he died he was unknown outside Holland and it stayed that way pretty much for 200 years. Then, a French art critic Étienne-Joseph-Théophile Thoré discovered him & began buying up his stuff. A lot of it was attributed to other more famous painters, so that was a problem. By the end of the 19th century Vermeer had arrived, from zero to hero, he was everyone’s favourite naturalistic Dutchman.
He then had a second revival when in 1999 Tracy Chevalier wrote Girl with a Pearl Earring which is all about Vermeer, followed by the movie in which Colin Firth gets to play the man himself. So now EVERYONE knows about Vermeer.
The (some say) brilliant singer songwriter Nick Drake lived an even shorter life - 1948–74 – and recorded three short albums before he died, which sold pitifully, partly because he wasn't up to doing any live work or promotional interviews. So not surprisingly he got lost in the shuffle. He was a namecheck for musicians to drop in the 1990s but still no one was buying; then came THE ADVERT whereby a guy called Ron Lawner – chief creative officer of Arnold Communications – put together a one minute ad for the new VW Cabrio in 1999. Wiki quotes Ron’s press release as follows:
The song is very special. It's an old song by a guy named Nick Drake. It's called 'Pink Moon' and is actually a very good introduction to Nick Drake if you're not familiar with him. It's very transporting. And to us seemed very fitting for a beautiful drive in the country on a very special night.
And Wiki continues
The Volkswagen Cabriolet commercial, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and filmed by Lance Acord, led to a large increase in record sales, and a number-five placing for Pink Moon in Amazon.com's sales chart
I found this appreciation of the ad:
For me, the Nick Drake/VW ad singlehandedly reversed my thinking on that issue, because it showed me what was possible in mixing art with marketing. The ad successfully positions Nick Drake and Cabrio as the perfect choices among a certain set of thoughtful (and attractive, of course) young people. If the mission of the modern commercial is not to “sell a product” but to connect that product with a desirable lifestyle, then the Cabrio ad is a smashing success. It’s not selling a car so much as it’s selling a dream—almost literally, given the ad’s beautiful, hypnotic marriage of sound and image.
So now we all know about Vermeer and Nick Drake. Maybe it was inevitable. It took more than 200 years for the painter and 25 years for the songwriter (and who is to say that a record, that single combination of voice, instrument, melody, rhythm and lyric, isn’t the equivalent of the single combination of paint, technique, perspective and vision in a canvas – not me).
So - all you artists, painters, authors, poets, sculptors, songwriters, musicians, whatever - don't worry that everyone's totally ignoring you right now. We will get to you all in the end. It just might take a while.
The brilliant painter Jan Vermeer lived a short life - 1632-75 and knocked out 34, maybe 35 paintings. The earliest is dated 1655 when he was 23 so that was a production rate of 1.75 per year from then on. Not great. When he died he was unknown outside Holland and it stayed that way pretty much for 200 years. Then, a French art critic Étienne-Joseph-Théophile Thoré discovered him & began buying up his stuff. A lot of it was attributed to other more famous painters, so that was a problem. By the end of the 19th century Vermeer had arrived, from zero to hero, he was everyone’s favourite naturalistic Dutchman.
He then had a second revival when in 1999 Tracy Chevalier wrote Girl with a Pearl Earring which is all about Vermeer, followed by the movie in which Colin Firth gets to play the man himself. So now EVERYONE knows about Vermeer.
The (some say) brilliant singer songwriter Nick Drake lived an even shorter life - 1948–74 – and recorded three short albums before he died, which sold pitifully, partly because he wasn't up to doing any live work or promotional interviews. So not surprisingly he got lost in the shuffle. He was a namecheck for musicians to drop in the 1990s but still no one was buying; then came THE ADVERT whereby a guy called Ron Lawner – chief creative officer of Arnold Communications – put together a one minute ad for the new VW Cabrio in 1999. Wiki quotes Ron’s press release as follows:
The song is very special. It's an old song by a guy named Nick Drake. It's called 'Pink Moon' and is actually a very good introduction to Nick Drake if you're not familiar with him. It's very transporting. And to us seemed very fitting for a beautiful drive in the country on a very special night.
And Wiki continues
The Volkswagen Cabriolet commercial, directed by Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris and filmed by Lance Acord, led to a large increase in record sales, and a number-five placing for Pink Moon in Amazon.com's sales chart
I found this appreciation of the ad:
For me, the Nick Drake/VW ad singlehandedly reversed my thinking on that issue, because it showed me what was possible in mixing art with marketing. The ad successfully positions Nick Drake and Cabrio as the perfect choices among a certain set of thoughtful (and attractive, of course) young people. If the mission of the modern commercial is not to “sell a product” but to connect that product with a desirable lifestyle, then the Cabrio ad is a smashing success. It’s not selling a car so much as it’s selling a dream—almost literally, given the ad’s beautiful, hypnotic marriage of sound and image.
So now we all know about Vermeer and Nick Drake. Maybe it was inevitable. It took more than 200 years for the painter and 25 years for the songwriter (and who is to say that a record, that single combination of voice, instrument, melody, rhythm and lyric, isn’t the equivalent of the single combination of paint, technique, perspective and vision in a canvas – not me).
So - all you artists, painters, authors, poets, sculptors, songwriters, musicians, whatever - don't worry that everyone's totally ignoring you right now. We will get to you all in the end. It just might take a while.
July 29, 2011
I bought this after two novels that centered on two Vermeer paintings (Girl with the Pearl Earring,and GIrl in Hyacinth Blue) came out--I had not realized that so few of his paintings existed and I love them
June 8, 2018
This was interesting. I recognized some of the paintings that was in the movie Girl with a Pearl Earring. The art work in this is really good. The attention to detail and the facial expressions conveyed in the art is also good.
July 20, 2023
Vermeer: The Complete Works is a showcase of all of the known paintings by Golden Age Dutch master, Johannes Vermeer. Written by a Arthur Wheelock Jr., a known curator and art historian of Dutch art, this book will surely please 17th century art lovers and Vermeer fans. It starts with a relatively short essay about Vermeer, and namely his artistic integrity, and then moves onto pages about each of his surviving pieces. The annotations Wheelock provides are very insightful, and easily able to follow to understand the message in each painting.
Given how this book is in a large paperback format, the closeness of the painting scans really gives you that intimate feeling Vermeer is known for in his works. In those analyses, Wheelock also goes into the possible inspirations Vermeer had for creating them and comparing some of them to other contemporary works. My only complaint is that some artworks are given more details than others. Surely though, The Complete Works is a pleasing read for a Vermeer fan.
Given how this book is in a large paperback format, the closeness of the painting scans really gives you that intimate feeling Vermeer is known for in his works. In those analyses, Wheelock also goes into the possible inspirations Vermeer had for creating them and comparing some of them to other contemporary works. My only complaint is that some artworks are given more details than others. Surely though, The Complete Works is a pleasing read for a Vermeer fan.
March 4, 2025
I wanted to have a Vermeer book on my bookshelf. I have fallen in love with his work many years ago and have my own personal art renaissance since the beginning of 2025. That´s why I just had to buy a book with his work right now!
Arthur Wheelock´s collection is nearly 27 years old but the quality of the print is great and it is a reasonable alternative to more pricy collection of Vermeer´s work from 2024.
The scientists don’t know much about Vermeer´s life that’s why we don’t get much insides into his inner life as an artist in this book. There are only a couple of pages about the facts we know and short texts that complement his paintings. Since I didn’t need more information (my main goal was to enjoy the prints of his work) I was more than happy with my purchase.
Arthur Wheelock´s collection is nearly 27 years old but the quality of the print is great and it is a reasonable alternative to more pricy collection of Vermeer´s work from 2024.
The scientists don’t know much about Vermeer´s life that’s why we don’t get much insides into his inner life as an artist in this book. There are only a couple of pages about the facts we know and short texts that complement his paintings. Since I didn’t need more information (my main goal was to enjoy the prints of his work) I was more than happy with my purchase.
June 23, 2019
I have kept this book too long and need to pass it on. The oversize format allows the paintings to be displayed so that more detail can be enjoyed. The text offers some information on how some of these paintings were influenced by other paintings and Vermeer's mentors. I found the repetition of some of the wall hangings, stained glass windows and flooring to be interesting. Was this the same room that he set up in different ways as he painted or was it just the comfort of the same designs?
Definitely salve to the soul to enjoy the beauty of these paintings. I would love to see some of these in person.
Definitely salve to the soul to enjoy the beauty of these paintings. I would love to see some of these in person.
June 2, 2019
This large (approximately 10” x 14”) volume includes beautiful colour plates of Johannes Vermeer’s works alongside illustrations of references Vermeer may have drawn inspiration from. The six pages of text gives the reader a short biography and descriptions of the paintings, enough to inspire further study. In addition, each plate is annotated. This is a lovely addition to anyone’s art book library.
October 18, 2020
35 beautifully printed plates with Vermeer's art work accompanied by brief annotations.
April 19, 2022
A stunning collection of paintings to be sure. The annotations are insightful, though I would have appreciated even more in-depth analysis of each work.
December 15, 2022
The Vermeer bible, my "go-to" book each time I visit a museum and see another Vermeer. All the Vermeers (including the one just downgraded by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC).
April 3, 2025
Painting doesn't get much better than this
January 14, 2008
Hmmm....I wrote a blurb about thsi book several weeks ago but it doesn't seem to have survived the computer problems we were having. Too bad, because it was riveting.
Vermeer didn't paint much or he painted lots but not many of his works have survived. And of those, very few appeal to me - the people are often wearing lewd expressions or have moon faces that aren't attractive. I do like The Little Street ,View of Delft and Young Woman with a Water Pitcher.
Vermeer didn't paint much or he painted lots but not many of his works have survived. And of those, very few appeal to me - the people are often wearing lewd expressions or have moon faces that aren't attractive. I do like The Little Street ,View of Delft and Young Woman with a Water Pitcher.
January 9, 2017
I checked this out from the library on a whim. I like Vermeer and am familiar with his body of work. This is a large-scale binding with full-color plates. It was most interesting to me to see the repetitiveness of that one window in that one room. Without being able to see so many prints next to each other, I hadn't noticed that before.
November 30, 2007
This is the collection of my favorite painter. The large images of his masterpieces are stunning.
March 11, 2009
Tracy Chevalier's "Girl With a Pearl Earring" inspired me to read this. It's great.
May 18, 2009
This really helped bring Vermeer to light as I read Girl with a Pearl Earring.
July 31, 2011
Lovely collection.
Really nice reproductions of the paintings, good size and colour.
Really nice reproductions of the paintings, good size and colour.
January 24, 2015
A very nice book. Explains and shows some of the best works of Vermeer.
April 3, 2008
I have the hard cover copy! VerMeer is a painter I aspire to for guidance!!!
August 13, 2008
Great reproductions.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews