Idyllic, Quiet

Born successively in the 17th century, Rembrandt Hals and Vermeer ,three masters of art, represented the peak of Dutch painting. In the field of genre painting, Vermeer is incomparable. Although he takes a second place after Rembrandt in the history of Dutch art, there are far fewer pages on Vermeer than those on Rembrandt and Hals in western art surveys published in China. On the basis of original materials, this thesis attempts to have a close exploration of all the works of Vermeer, so as to make a deeper and more systematic summary to Vermeer's art language.According to some experts, Vermeer created thirty-five pictures in all through his life. In Vermeer's works, the space is accurate and well ordered; the form is concise and forceful; the negative shape and contour are emphasized. Vermeer is especially sensible to light. The whole picture is permeated with cold light. Glittery highlight like small points carries pearl-like brilliance. The mixture of yellow and blue is Vermeer's favorite . He endows them with emotional function . Vermeer's application of glaze is also hard to surpass. His works are rich in allegories. By way of "picture in picture" or figures' actions, Vermeer aims to express his longing and praise for a mundane love,which is different from mythological love advocated in classical painting. According to some scholars, Vermeer applied the instrument named "camera obscure" at that time to get help in painting. However, Vermeer's eyes are so percipient that no instrument is able to substitute for them.