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The original version of the Woman with a Pearl Necklace
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With the aid of a neutron
radiograph and knowledge of Dutch masters' painting technique, the original version
of Vermeer's thought was reconstructed using scanned images that were elaborated with
Photoshop. Vermeer probably did not take this version any further than the underpainting stage. An underpainting
is a monochrome preparation for successive painting, usually executed in umber, black and white, in which the
artist fixes the drawing, modeling, lighting effects and general atmosphere of the
painting. The underpainting was subsequently painted over entirely and served
principally as
a guide to the rest of the work. This method was widely employed in Vermeer's time. The virtual reconstruction (left) is probably more detailed than the actual underpainting Vermeer executed. Once the underpainting was established, the artist gradually refined modeling, contour employing color.. Why did Vermeer alter the painting so drastically? Once the underpainting was completed Vermeer probably realized the drawbacks in such a complicated composition. The delicate dialogue between the young woman who peacefully contemplates her own image in a mirror seems burdened by the excessive number of iconographically and visually significant objects that surround her. Vermeer removed the lute from the chair, since the powder brush on the table defines more precisely the girl's activity and serves, along with the rounded form of the ceramic vase, as reinforcements and companions to the girl's femininity. The map on the wall, instead of securely embracing the young woman as is does in the Woman in Blue, tends to isolate her from the rest of the painting and obstructs the line of the girl's gaze towards the mirror. The carpet was extended to cover the sunlight tiles in order to shift our attention the upper half of the painting where the subdued narrative unfolds. The end result was the creation of a masterwork of simplicity and intimacy. Vermeer spared no pains in refining his compositions and repeated overpaintings were a part of his working process. He knew well that anything that does not contribute to a painting's meaning, subtracts from the meaning itself. 1 2 3 4 5 6 |
reconstruction
of the underpainting