Johannes Vermeer, The Procuress
1656Johannes Vermeer, The Procuress
1656Paintings sorted by   Historical period  |   Painter  |  Subject matter  |  Pigments used
Overview
Medium: Oil
Support: Canvas
Size: 143.5.0Â x 130Â cm
Art period: Baroque
Gemäldegalerie Dresden
Inventory Nr 1335
Pigments
Pigment Analysis
This pigment analysis is based on the work of Hermann Kühn of Doerner Institute in Munich (1).
1 The white collar of the man on the left holding a wine glass:Â lead white.
2Â Blue wine jug on the right side:Â natural ultramarine.
3 Yellow robe of the woman: lead-tin-yellow and small amounts of yellow ochre.
4 Red tablecloth, lower edge: vermilion, madder lake, and lead white with a small admixture of smalt.
5 The green part of the tablecloth, lower edge: lead white, smalt, and small amounts of lead-tin-yellow. As a result of a recent pigment analysis in 2001 (2) a new pigment rich in iron and phosphorus has been found in the grey-blue areas of the table cloth. The scientists of the Doerner Institute conducting the analysis identified this pigment as vivianite (iron phosphate).
6 Dark blue parts of the table cloth, lower edge: a recent pigment analysis in 2001-02 (2) revealed a pigment missed by H. Kuhn in the first analysis. Vermeer used the organic pigment indigo together with smalt in this part of the carpet used as a table covering.
7Â Greenish-brown background: a mixture of natural ultramarine and lead white with small amounts of lead-tin yellow and smalt.
References
(1) Kuhn, H. A Study of the Pigments and Grounds Used by Jan Vermeer. Reports and Studies in the History of Art, 1968, 154–202.
(2) H. Stege, C. Tilenschi und A. Unger. Bekanntes und Unbekanntes – neue Untersuchungen zur Palette Vermeers auf dem Gemälde „Bei der Kupplerin“. In: Uta Neidhardt und Marlies Giebe (Ed.), Johannes Vermeer – Bei der Kupplerin, Ausstellungskatalog Dresden 2004, pp. 76-82.
Pigments Used in This Painting
Resources
See the collection of online and offline resources such as books, articles, videos, and websites on Johannes Vermeer in the section ‘Resources on Painters‘
PowerPoint Presentations
Painter in Context: Johannes Vermeer
A richly illustrated presentation on the painting technique and pigments employed by Johannes Vermeer specially crafted for Art Education. (Number of Slides = 24)
- Each presentation starts with the basic resources on the painter such as his biography, main catalogs of his paintings, and a bibliography.
- Next, you find slides describing the painting technique of the artist and the pigments he usually employed in his work.
- The majority of the slides show examples of paintings containing the specific pigments.
Slides showing the basic resources on the paintings of the Dutch Baroque painter Johannes Vermeer.Â
The painting technique of Johannes Vermeer is described and illustrated in the next slides.
The majority of the slides show important examples of paintings where Vermeer employed specific pigments. The slides are organized according to the color of the pigments.
Publications and Websites
Publications
(1) Neidhart, U. and Giebe, M. Johannes Vermeer ‘Bei der Kupplerin,’ exhibition  catalog, Dresden, 2004.
(2) Salomon, N. From Sexuality to Civility: Vermeer’s Women, in Gaskell, I. and Jonker, M. ed., Vermeer Studies, in Studies in the History of Art, 55, National Gallery of Art, Washington 1998, pp. 309-322.
(3) Marjorie E. Wieseman, Wayne Franits & H. Perry Chapman, Vermeer’s Women: Secrets and Silence, Yale University Press 2011.
