Jans Vermeer

Jans Vermeer  (1632 - 1675) was a Dutch artist. Some of his most famous works include Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Milkmaid and The Astronomer. 

During Vermeer's lifetime, the main ingredient used too make blue paint was extremely expensive so most artists couldn't afford to use it. As blue features in many of Vermeer's paintings, this tells us that many of his portraits were of wealthy people. Another clue is in the maps that are often in the background of his works. Having a map in your home at that time was an indicator of wealth education and possible world travel.

We studied many of Vermeer's paintings and noticed that they were some features common in most, if not all of the paintings. Most were indoor scenes. There was usually a woman  or two, strongly lit from a large window on the left. In some of the paintings, there was a map on the wall and a diamond shaped pattern on the floor. In Girl with a Pearl Earring, the girl's head dress is blue.

Our artwork was based on the style of Vermeer and so incorporated some or all of these elements.