Ikea Hackers: Small Space Big Ideas

The Milkmaid by Johannes Vermeer

A young woman most likely a maid, as the title suggests, pouring milk and breaking bread with the warm wash of morning sun reflecting on her and the few items in the room. At the far right the light source is identified as the natural sunlight shines through the small panes of an unadorned window. A simple black picture frame, a wicker basket and a copper container are the only items on the wall. This emphasizes the functionality of the room. In the forefront a simple table is covered with cloth and the basket of bread which has been painted with extra dots of white paint to give the elusion of the reflection of light make the texture and surface nearly photographic to life.

            The woman’s strong, sturdy build, a reference to her working class, is accentuated in the contrast of the bare cream wall behind. She wears a traditional Dutch crisp linen cap, vibrant yellow dress and a flowing blue apron; her sleeves are pushed up from her strong thick forearms. The woman’s gaze is directed downward and her lips pursed as in deep concentration. Her exact reason for concentration is not inherently obvious: whether focused on the task at hand, pouring the milk into the large mouthed basin, thinking about the man she loves, as referenced by the blue and white Delft tile featuring Cupid, or a deeper divine thought.  Her gaze could reference a deeper moral meaning, one that invokes spirituality in the seemingly menial daily task. This idea is echoed in the broken bread and fresh pouring milk reminiscent of the Holy Eucharist.

            Continued debate between historians has credited Vermeer’s photographic quality of painting to the use of the camera obscura, an optical device that predates the photographic camera. While it is probable he may have used a lens for his observation and composition, it is more likely that his observation of natural light reflection and his ability to recreate the light and perspective effects in paint provide this photographic quality. Whether Vermeer used this technology or not is an ongoing debate, yet the innovative compositional and painting techniques he employed have become a staple in Baroque art and a major influence on later artists.

 

The Three Trees by Rembrandt

The Three Trees, depicts a dramatically lit countryside with rich buttery clouds floating above an idealized pastoral scene of people. One set of lovers hidden in the dark bushes of the foreground and another pair leisurely conversing as the man fishes in the pond are other examples of the garden of love theme found throughout northern Europe.

The Scholar in His Study by Rembrandt

(sorry for the quality of the image, this one is hard to find a good image of online)

This monochrome etching depicts an aged man surrounded by the objects of intellectual study. His attention is lost in the supernatural light of an inscribed disk hovering in front of him. At the far right the strong forms of the globe, haphazardly-stacked books and wooden desk help vertically balance the composition by providing objects which the viewer can relate. As the focus moves toward the floating disk the viewer, like the scholar becomes awestruck by the oddity.

            The disk contains a series of letters all seemingly meaningless except for the four most central, “INRI” a known monogram of Jesus Christ.  Supernatural light emanates from the floating disk and is made even brighter as Rembrandt’s careful hand clearly differentiates this light from the natural light that pours in the intricately paned window. The veiled reference to Christ in contrast to the objects of earthly studies is evidence of Rembrandt’s desire to continue to produce works with moral meaning and religious undertone. 

            While Rembrandt excelled in the traditional medium of oil painting, The Scholar is a demonstration of the effort and pictorial effects Rembrandt discovered that distinguished him from all other etchers throughout history. Part of the greatness of Rembrandt is his ability to take a medium widely regarded throughout Europe for its graphic technique, used to produce multiple copies of simple stylized images and to achieve the same effects of chiaroscuro to in capturing specific lighting and tonal qualities employed in his paintings.

Ikea Hackers Mantle Clock

The Garden of Love by Peter Paul Rubens

In this painting a gathering of aristocratic-like lovers are overseen by Venus, goddess of love, beauty and fertility to celebrate his recent wedding. The garden, a common theme in Northern European art is an allegory of the Virgin Mary and motifs within the garden generally include lush foliage and fresh fruit. On the far left a grounded putto, presumably Cupid, pushes the new couple, Rubens and his young bride Helena, into a fairytale-like garden inhabited by a group of people who, like Helena and Rubens, are lavishly dressed in vibrantly colored, texturally rich, ornate costumes.  Their faces are supple hues of soft pinks with white to highlight surface quality of the flesh. The viewer is captivated by the typical Rubensesque overt plumpness of each lover giving them a proud bearing and healthy physique.  The group forms a diagonal hierarchy across the composition.  The viewer follows a spiral pattern of classically-posed figures that have come to life through Rubens’s voluptuously free-flowing brushstrokes, ultimately culminating with a fountain statue of Venus as Rubens references both his quotation of antiquity in the Venus Pudica and an embodiment of the love he feels toward his wife. Two putti continue the spiraling movement to another group of lovers within the architectural archways and stone columns of a Venetian-inspired grotto, overseen by a statue of the Three Graces representing chastity, beauty and love.  Beyond the stone structure Rubens paints an ideal countryside and cool colored sky in the distance.  The vibrant primary color of the lovers’ costumes and the strength of the composition give clarity and simplicity to what would otherwise be a disorganized scene reminiscent of kermis, or peasant paintings of the Bruegel tradition.

The Death of Germanicus by Nicholas Poussin

This painting depicts a group of Roman soldiers in a wide range of emotions regarding the unjust death of their heroic captain. On the far left a soldier turns his muscular back toward the viewer and raises his hand to his face as though hiding his despair. With this contrast of the outward physical strength and the real human emotion, the realism of the surface of the flesh makes the viewer more aware of what is happening, introspectively to the character.  Next to him another soldier rests his head in his palm and closes his eye in a desolate manner to suggest his reflection of the moment.

 The group of soldiers is embodied by the two foremost soldiers: one is wearing a vibrant red cloak and shimmering helmet, his contrapposto pose suggests he has just arrived, while the other key soldier stands solid, resembling a marble statue. He is wearing golden armor and stands closest to Germanicus with his hand raised heavenward to display his level of allegiance. Poussin draws the viewer’s eye to the crisp white forms of Germanicus’s cloak. The essential moral link in the painting is the V shape created by angles of the statuesque soldier together with the form of the grieving wife Agrippina and son, the future Emperor Caligula. In this void lies the dying Germanicus, who is honored for his virtue and piety by the broad-shouldered soldiers and a loving family alike.

            Germanicus is a testimony to Poussin’s study of ancient Roman history and archaeology.  The work is reminiscent of a Roman frieze: the horizontal lines, the row of figures and the blue drapery above the bed bring order of movement close to the viewer and create intimacy in the scene. Fortunately Poussin moves past the relief-like qualities in his creation of depth in the space. The backgrond is complete with pilasters, roundels, keystones and spacious archways, allowing the architecture to echo the narrative in the scene. Poussin’s display of a controlled freedom of the brush, intricate detail, diverse use of bold forms and figures helps to portray a wide variety of moral meaning. This work shows the wide range of emotion and thematic detail, including comradeship and a dignified manner in which all should meet and reverence life and death, which Poussin was able to portray in his paintings.