Underpainting Painting: Johannes Vermeer
For this painting Johannes Vermeer used charcoal, chalk, tempera, white lead, red and yellow ochre, vermillion and oil paints in various tones most of which he grinded up himself daily. No one knows how Johannes Vermeer made the initial drawing for this painting but it is thought that preliminary drawing on the canvas was to act as a guide during the painting and also intended to fix the significant contours of the composition. Once the initial outline drawing was finished he began the underpainting. Underpainting is pretty much a one colour; in various shades, version of the final painting, which gives volume and substance to the shapes as well as fixes the composition. He would have used blacks, ochre’s and warm browns and occasionally white
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for the under painting. Vermeer would of added colour over the underpainting once it was completely dry. He also made use of white lead at this point. If he thought areas were to light, he would darken them at this point and the darker areas he lightened. He also made a few minor and major corrections in the size and placement of the objects found in his compositions at this stage of his painting. The contours of the woman’s garments were altered to make them more fluid and elegant; the shadows on her garments were also darkened or lightened, all depending on the visible effect the underpainting made. The darker areas of flesh were painted with transparent layers of black mixed with umber or ochre in the under painting. Red madder, vermilion and red ochre seems to have been used in the shadowed areas of the nose and in the lips. The dark shadow areas on the turban were also painted with transparent layers of black and umber at this point. Once the underpainting was complete Vermeer proceed to a stage of painting called working up. The main concern in this stage was to give everything correct colouring one part at a time. Vermeer worked quite quickly to do the working up of this particular painting as shown when you look up close. The headwear that the girl in this painting is wearing was painted with surprisingly rapid and broad brushwork. He painted the illuminated blue part of the turban with a single layer of white lead mixed with ultramarine blue, then glazed with a transparent of the same blue with a very small addition of red madder. The background was set in the underpainting stage then glazed with a mixture of indigo and welt to achieve a somewhat greenish tone.
The part of the painting which seemed to require considerable time to paint was the face of the girl. The illuminated part of the girl’s face was painted in two thin layers of flesh tone. Vermeer seems to have used a flat fan shaped brush called a badger brush to paint parts of her face to blend the different colours together. The first layer of flesh colour most likely served to define the gradations of lights and darks. The more specific tones of colour, like the warmer tones on the lips and cheeks were completed in the second layer although by their tone they may of have been suggested in the beginning. Vermeer made the young girl’s half smile brighter by adding two small white dots on either sides of her mouth, echoing the highlights in her eyes. He used his paints to capture the effect of the light falling across her turban, ochre-coloured jacket and features. He made her skin on her cheek look more delicate with a soft contour, which he created by extending a thin glaze lightly over the edge of the thick impasto, defining the flesh colour. He implied reflective light from the white colour in the pearl earring, also more subtly, the shadows on her left
cheek. Lastly, he painted the shaded part of the turban by covering black under paint with glazes of natural ultramarine. The background in the Girl with the pearl earring does not look as it did when it came off of Vermeer’s easel about 360 years ago. Recent analysis shows that Vermeer had painted a transparent glaze of green paint over the dark underpainting. Formally, the background must have appeared as a glossy, smooth, hard and deep translucent green. The tone of the background against the warm flesh colour probably produced a more vibrant optical effect than the one seen today.
for the under painting. Vermeer would of added colour over the underpainting once it was completely dry. He also made use of white lead at this point. If he thought areas were to light, he would darken them at this point and the darker areas he lightened. He also made a few minor and major corrections in the size and placement of the objects found in his compositions at this stage of his painting. The contours of the woman’s garments were altered to make them more fluid and elegant; the shadows on her garments were also darkened or lightened, all depending on the visible effect the underpainting made. The darker areas of flesh were painted with transparent layers of black mixed with umber or ochre in the under painting. Red madder, vermilion and red ochre seems to have been used in the shadowed areas of the nose and in the lips. The dark shadow areas on the turban were also painted with transparent layers of black and umber at this point. Once the underpainting was complete Vermeer proceed to a stage of painting called working up. The main concern in this stage was to give everything correct colouring one part at a time. Vermeer worked quite quickly to do the working up of this particular painting as shown when you look up close. The headwear that the girl in this painting is wearing was painted with surprisingly rapid and broad brushwork. He painted the illuminated blue part of the turban with a single layer of white lead mixed with ultramarine blue, then glazed with a transparent of the same blue with a very small addition of red madder. The background was set in the underpainting stage then glazed with a mixture of indigo and welt to achieve a somewhat greenish tone.
The part of the painting which seemed to require considerable time to paint was the face of the girl. The illuminated part of the girl’s face was painted in two thin layers of flesh tone. Vermeer seems to have used a flat fan shaped brush called a badger brush to paint parts of her face to blend the different colours together. The first layer of flesh colour most likely served to define the gradations of lights and darks. The more specific tones of colour, like the warmer tones on the lips and cheeks were completed in the second layer although by their tone they may of have been suggested in the beginning. Vermeer made the young girl’s half smile brighter by adding two small white dots on either sides of her mouth, echoing the highlights in her eyes. He used his paints to capture the effect of the light falling across her turban, ochre-coloured jacket and features. He made her skin on her cheek look more delicate with a soft contour, which he created by extending a thin glaze lightly over the edge of the thick impasto, defining the flesh colour. He implied reflective light from the white colour in the pearl earring, also more subtly, the shadows on her left
cheek. Lastly, he painted the shaded part of the turban by covering black under paint with glazes of natural ultramarine. The background in the Girl with the pearl earring does not look as it did when it came off of Vermeer’s easel about 360 years ago. Recent analysis shows that Vermeer had painted a transparent glaze of green paint over the dark underpainting. Formally, the background must have appeared as a glossy, smooth, hard and deep translucent green. The tone of the background against the warm flesh colour probably produced a more vibrant optical effect than the one seen today.