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The Lacemaker is a painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), completed around 1669–1670 and held in the Louvre, Paris. The work shows a young woman wearing a yellow bodice, holding up a pair of bobbins in her left hand as she carefully places a pin in the pillow on which she is making her bobbin lace. At 24.5 cm x 21 cm (9.6 in x 8.3 in), the work is the smallest of Vermeer's paintings,[1] but in many ways one of his most abstract and unusual.[2] The canvas used was cut from the same bolt as that used for A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals, and both paintings seem to have had identical dimensions originally.[3][4]

The Lacemaker
Artist	Johannes Vermeer
Year	c. 1669-1670
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	24.5 cm × 21 cm (9.6 in × 8.3 in)
Location	Louvre, Paris

The girl is set against a blank wall, probably because the artist sought to eliminate any external distractions from the central image. As with his The Astronomer (1668) and The Geographer (1669), it is likely that the artist undertook careful study before he executed the work; the art of lacemaking is portrayed closely and accurately.[5] Vermeer probably used a camera obscura while composing the work: many optical effects typical of photography can be seen, in particular the blurring of the foreground.[1] By rendering areas of the canvas as out-of-focus, Vermeer is able to suggest depth of field in a manner unusual of Dutch Baroque painting of the era.[6]

In The Lacemaker, the artist presents in an abstract manner the various elements which compose the girl's face and body and the pattern of the material on which she is working. The girl's hands, the curls of her hair and the T-cross which form her eyes and nose are all described in an abstract manner unusual for the era in which Vermeer worked. In addition, the red and white of the lace is shown as spilling from the sewing cushion with physical properties suggesting a near liquid form.[2] The blurring of these threads contrasts sharply with the precision of the lace she is shown working on.[1]

Vermeer's painting is often compared to a 1662 canvas by the Dutch portrait and genre painter Caspar Netscher. However, Vermeer's work is very different in tone. In the earlier work, both the girl's shoes and the mussel shells near her feet have sexual connotations.[1] In addition, the discarded shoes in Netscher's painting are unlikely to be the girl's own, hinting again at a sexual overtone.[7]

According to the art historian Lawrence Gowing,

"The achievement of Vermeer's maturity is complete. It is not open to extension: no universal style is discovered. We have never the sense of abundance that the characteristic jewels of his century gives us, the sense that the precious vein lies open, ready to be worked. There is only one 'Lacemaker': we cannot imagine another. It is a complete and single definition."[8]

Notes

Sources

• Bonafoux, Pascal. Vermeer. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1992. ISBN 1-56852-308-4
• Gowing, Lawrence. Vermeer. University of California Press, 1950.
• Huerta, Robert D. Giants of Delft. Bucknell University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-8387-5538-0
• Huerta, Robert D. Vermeer and Plato: Painting the Ideal. Bucknell University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8387-5606-9
• Wheelock, Arthur K. Vermeer: The Complete Works. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997. ISBN 0-8109-2751-9

Further reading

• Liedtke, Walter A. (2001). Vermeer and the Delft School. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0-87099-973-4.

На других языках

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[de] Die Spitzenklöpplerin (Vermeer)

Die Spitzenklöpplerin ist ein von Jan Vermeer in den Jahren 1669 bis 1670 gemaltes Ölgemälde. Das 24,5 Zentimeter hohe und 21 Zentimeter breite Bild, das kleinste von Vermeers Bildern, zeigt eine Frau, die an einer Klöppelspitze arbeitet. Das Bild ist signiert, aber nicht datiert. Heute hängt es in der Sammlung des Musée du Louvre in Paris.

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- [en] The Lacemaker (Vermeer)

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[es] La encajera

La encajera o La encajera de bolillos (en neerlandés, De Kantwerkster), es una de las pinturas más conocidas del pintor holandés Johannes Vermeer. Está realizado en óleo sobre lienzo, montado sobre madera. Se calcula que fue pintado hacia 1669-1670. Mide 23,9 cm de alto y 20,5 cm de ancho. Se exhibe actualmente en el Museo del Louvre de París.

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[fr] La Dentellière (Vermeer)

La Dentellière (De kantwerkster) est un tableau de Johannes Vermeer peint entre 1669 et 1671, exposé au musée du Louvre à Paris (huile sur toile, 24,5 × 21 cm).

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[it] Merlettaia (Vermeer)

La Merlettaia è un dipinto a olio su tela riportata su tavola (23,9x20,5 cm) di Jan Vermeer, databile al 1669-1670 circa e conservato nel Museo del Louvre di Parigi. È firmato «IV Meer» in alto a destra, con lettere leggermente sbiadite.

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[ru] Кружевница (картина Вермеера)

«Кружевница» (нидерл. De kantwerkster) — картина, написанная голландским художником Яном Вермеером (1632—1675), которая была завершена между 1669—1670 годами, а в настоящее время находится в парижском музее Лувр.

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