"Mary has chosen the good portion"
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Vermeer
Christ in the House of Mary and Martha
c. 1654-55
This was one of Vermeer's earliest paintings. Paintings of biblical themes
were classified as histories, which were described in treatises on art as
most distinguished tasks. Vermeer probably wanted to demonstrate his
abilities in this genre upon entry to the Guild of St. Luke.
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Vermeer
Christ in the House of Mary and Martha
(detail)
Strong colour contrasts
Vermeer loved strong colour contrasts. The
bright white tablecloth
contrasts sharply with
Mary's vermilion blouse and
Christ's blue
robe. |
History painting: a most distinguished task
Given the many genre paintings done by Vermeer, it is perhaps surprising to
realise that the earliest of his works known to us are of the type of paintings
known in his time as histories. It apparently seemed important to the young
artist (or it was expected of him) to prove that he possessed the abilities of a
pictor doctus, an "educated artist", upon his admission to the painters' guild;
such an artist would be able to inform what the art world considered to be lofty
subjects with decorum, in a proper and becoming manner.
The Paris College of Art set the standards, and had developed a hierarchical
structure of genres; history paintings occupied the top position - above
portraits, landscapes, still lifes and animal paintings. Dutch art critics such
as Karel van Mander (Het Schilderboeck, Haarlem 1604, folio 281a) stated from
quite early on in their treatises that history paintings were the most
distinguished tasks in art. On the one hand, this genre included religious
subjects, biblical motifs or scenes from the saints' lives and church history;
on the other, it also included ancient historical subjects and mythological
themes.
In contrast to many works of Vermeer's late period (such as The Lacemaker, c.
1669-70, 24.5 x 21 cm and thus Vermeer's smallest painting), Christ in
the House of Mary and Martha is a relatively large painting (160 x 142 cm). It depicts a New Testament scene from the Gospel of St. Luke, where the
evangelist tells us how Christ went to a market, and was invited home for a meal
by a woman called Martha. While Martha was busy in the kitchen, her sister Mary
listened to Christ. Martha asked Christ why he did not ask Mary to help her
serve, but he answered, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many
things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not
be taken away from her."
This section was already extremely popular in sixteenth-century Flemish art. It
allowed people to deal with the problem of good deeds, which had been rejected
by the Reformers as being superficial. At the same time, it was possible to
demonstrate the humanists' favourite contrast, namely that of the vita activa
(busy, active life) as opposed to the vita contemplativa (contemplative life).
Vermeer's Christ in the House of Mary and Martha uses a triangular composition
that is comparatively straightforward and uncomplicated. The setting is a simple
room with wooden walls. Mary is sitting at the front, on a low stool, at the
feet of Christ; his head is surrounded by a weak halo, and he is seated on an
armchair with voluted arms. Martha is bringing in a basket of bread, and he is
showing her, by pointing his outstretched hand at Mary, that the latter has
chosen the better portion. Mary has taken off her shoes; this is a sign of
humility. Her posture - or, to be precise, the way she is supporting her head on
her hand - is in accordance with the iconography of melancholy. Here it stands
for pensiveness and spiritual contemplation, in the sense of the vita
contemplativa.
Vermeer applied the colours pastose with a wide brush. This can be
seen particularly clearly at the folds in the garments, which are
raised roughly. He favoured strong, intense colour contrasts, such
as the dazzling white of the tablecloth, strikingly contrasted with
Christ's dark blue robe and Mary's vermilion blouse.
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Vermeer
Diana and Her Companions
c. 1655-56
This is another early work by Vermecr that is classified as a
history, though the theme on this occasion derives from mythology.
Diana was the Goddess of Hunting and was considered to be the
personification of chastity.
This painting may contain a reference to a picture by Jacob van
Loo (1614-1670).
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Jacob van Loo
Diana and Her Nymphs
1654
Oil on canvas, 100 x 136 cm
Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen
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Vermeer's second history painting from his early period is
Diana and Her Companions, now in the Mauritshuis, The Hague
(c. 1655-56). The theme is borrowed from Ovid's Metamorphoses
(3, 138-253). In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of hunting,
and she was considered to be the embodiment of chastity. The motif
of the bathing goddess was a particularly good way of demonstrating
this aspect of virgin purity, strict morality and the sense of
shame, which is being offended by the voyeurism of the approaching
Actaeon.
In 1559, Titian painted this later scene - which, according to Ovid,
takes place immediately after the episode depicted by Vermeer - for
King Philip II of Spain.4 His subject was nudity, which was at that
time beginning to be considered an embarrassing subject.
Paradoxically, the artist's liberal portrayal invites voyeurism on
the part of his audience, but this is inherently condemned within
the picture. In contrast to Titian's erotic and sensual
interpretation of the subject, Vermeer's painting seems to lack
action and is positively prudish. This tendency to conceal nudity,
which was considered to be offensive, can also be seen in the
earlier 1648 painting by another Dutchman, the Amsterdam artist
Jacob van Loo. It is possible that this painting was one of
Vermeer's sources. In Vermeer's painting, a partially clad nymph
(behind Diana, who can be recognised by her crescent-shaped diadem)
is turning away modestly.
Vermeer depicted only a small number of people in this picture.
Diana and two of her companions are sitting on a stone, resting
after the hunt. In the background is a darkly-clad nymph, who is
reverently, even somewhat apathetically, watching the ritual action
that another nymph is carrying out, that of washing the goddess's
feet. This motif is used by Vermeer to create a typological
connection between Diana and Christ, which gives the painting an
almost religious dimension. There is another parallel to this in the
washing of Bathsheba's feet (2 Samuel, 11), which was painted at
almost exactly the same point in time by Rembrandt.
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Rembrandt
Bathsheba with the Letter of King David
1654
An analogy of Vermeer's scene of Diana's feet being washed is this
picture by
Rembrandt, which was painted at about the same time.
This motif produced a typological relation between
Diana and Bathsheba, and Christ.
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Dusk is beginning to fall, and a heavy, melancholy mood is weighing
on this evening scene. The faces of the women are in shadow. This
darkness can be associated with the fact that, in classical
mythology, Diana was often equated with the moon goddess, Selene
(hence the crescent diadem). She was also considered to help with
births, as the moistness of the moon was thought to aid delivery.
This early painting still has many faults and weaknesses, in
particular where the depiction of the positions and movements of the
bodies are concerned. There is no overlooking the qualitative
difference between this and Jacob van Loo's painting, the latter
being much more elegant in terms of its composition and execution.
Measured against high academic standards, Vermeer's composition
makes a clumsy and provincial impression. There have long been
doubts as to whether this is really one of Vermeer's works, doubts
that cannot be completely dispelled. For instance, the painting was
ascribed to Nicolaes Maes, who was trained in Rembrandt's studio,
when it was bought by the Mauritshuis in 1876. In addition, John
Nash has noticed a "distinctly Rembrandtian air" about the painting.
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Vermeer
Diana and Her Companions (detail)
c. 1655-56
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