Exhibition On Screen: Vermeer And Music 2013

In the film Girl With A Pearl Earring, inspired by Vermeer's famous painting, Scarlett Johansson perfectly captures the spirit of the title character with her dreamy expression, captivating eyes and luscious lips. Along with Rembrandt and van Gogh, Vermeer is seen as one of the three greatest Dutch masters. Meticulously rendering the play of light and shadows with soft and delicate tones, Vermeer's masterpieces, such as "The Milkmaid", "Woman Reading a Letter" and "The Art of Painting" are almost always set within confined domestic spaces, combining carefully arranged objects and human figures in superb compositions. Said to be painted with the aid of the camera obscura, a precursor of the photographic camera, which projects scenery through a lens upon a flat surface, Vermeer’s works are known for their photographic precision and fine details. Using musical instruments, a frequently depicted subject in Dutch art as a point of departure, Tim Marlow, the artistic director at the Royal College of Art in London, England, elucidates various Vermeer paintings including "The Music Lesson", "Lady Standing at a Virginal" and T"he Guitar Player". While expounding on classical European musical instruments like the lute, virginal and viola, he explores the relationship between art and music, thus uncovering the source of inspiration behind the master's works.