oxford's temporary vermeer

oxford’s temporary vermeer

it’s on the second floor of the ashmolean. in company with several other dutch paintings. it’s here for only a short time. I’m glad I was told about it. it’s a little gem. it’s subject is alleged to be a lady playing the virginals. and, no, it does not feel like its much reproduced cousin. this beguiling little piece belongs to a private collector and is over here on fleeting loan.

why do I use the word ‘alleged’? why? because it appears to be an example of a work of art showing a keyboard instrument the wrong way round so that the highest sounds are towards the left and the lowest towards the right.

(only a few steps away is a 19th century representation of a woman playing a simple pipe organ. I suspect it was based on a pre-existing print. the tallest pipes, which make the deepest sounds, should be towards the player’s left. artistic licence and the rhythm of the portrayal prefer the unlikely alternative.)

did vermeer use an artist’s camera obscura? that could explain the discrepancy.

francis cameron, oxford, 15 february 2012

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