Tracy Chevalier's historical novel "Girl with a Pearl Earring", which is a fictional account of one period in Vermeer's life, does refer to one of his daughters working on her lace. I asked Gunvor Jorgensen back when I was reading the book whether she thought it would have been needle or bobbin lace, and she guessed bobbin lace was more likely. Of course Tracy Chevalier may just have been taking poetic license. Regina Haring Nanuet, NY
On Mon, Oct 17, 2011 at 4:58 PM, David Leader < [email protected]> wrote: > Laurie Waters wrote: > > I strongly disagree with the characterization of the model - this was > > probably Vermeer's daughter, and the family lived under the patronage of > the > > middle class. His few buyers often dug him out of deep debt. In fact he > > probably had only one real patron, Pieter Van Ruijven, and without that > > support, it would have gone very badly for him. He married well, and > > eventually moved into his mother-in-law's place with his 10 surviving > > children. > > I'm not sure what the evidence is that the model is Vermeer's daughter, but > the fact that as an artist Vermeer held an ambiguous position in society, > and that he was financially imprudent does not negate the fact that he and > his family were part of the middle classes. Class is not equivalent ot > wealth - an impoverished aristocrat is still an aristocrat. Anyway, this > seems to me irrelevant. We - or the contemporary audience - look at the > picture without knowing anything about who the model was and what her > father's financial circumstances might be, and her dress and environs > clearly place her. > > Here is a more pertinent question, then, for those who know about the > social history of lacemaking in the Netherlands in this period. Why would a > young woman of this class be making lace? Would it be to decorate her own > clothing or that of her sisters (she appears to have a lace collar), or > what? > > David > - To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [email protected]. For help, write to [email protected]. Photo site: http://community.webshots.com/user/arachne2003
