Wednesday, October 28, 2015

The Milkmaid

If you have never seen "Tim's Vermeer" get it on Netflix to learn how a digital film engineer spent 5 years reconstructing a room of Vermeer's time to exact specifications so that he could reconstruct a masterpiece using camera obscura to prove it was one of the illusions Vermeer employed. Master illusionists Penn & Teller produced this documentary.

The Milkmaid is most likely a lesson on diligence. She serenely pours the milk from the jug, capturing our attention with her quiet repose. But the lesson may warn against laziness as the background is in total disarray.  The walls are dirty and damaged, there is clutter on the floor, a window pane is broken, and day old bread lies torn in pieces on the table.

Often these Dutch housework scenes are designed to remind people to be diligent.

Vermeer was a master of fine detail. It is believed he used extremely fine dots to create the fine, translucent stream of milk.

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