The Art of Painting
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Where to see it
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna
About the painting
The Art of Painting, also known as The Allegory of Painting (Dutch: Allegorie op de schilderkunst), or Painter in his Studio, is a 17th-century oil on canvas painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. It is owned by the Austrian Republic and is on display in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
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Many art historians think that it is an allegory of painting, hence the alternative title of the painting. Its composition and iconography make it Vermeer's most complex work. After Vermeer's Christ in the House of Martha and Mary and The Procuress, it is his largest work.
This illusionistic painting is one of Vermeer's most famous. In 1868 Théophile Thoré-Bürger, known today for his rediscovery of Vermeer, regarded this painting as his most interesting. Svetlana Alpers describes it as unique and ambitious; Walter Liedtke as "a virtuoso display of the artist's power of invention and execution, staged in an imaginary version of his studio...." According to Albert Blankert, "No other painting so flawlessly integrates naturalistic technique, brightly illuminated space, and a complexly integrated composition."
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Similar works
Image: Johannes Vermeer; Wikimedia Commons · public domain