The Norton Simon Museum exhibits Johannes Vermeer's 'A Lady Writing' |
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| Friday, 07 November 2008 01:10 |
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The loan of A Lady Writing is the second in a series of exchanges between the Norton Simon foundations and the National Gallery of Art. The program launched in summer 2007 with the lending of the Norton Simon’s Rembrandt Portrait of a Boy, Presumed to be the Artist’s Son, Titus (c. 1645-50) to the National Gallery of Art. The arrival of A Lady Writing marks the first loan from the National Gallery to the Norton Simon Museum. “For our first incoming loan, we wanted to choose something that is rare and not represented in any public collection in the western United States, and that choice was a Vermeer," says Norton Simon Museum President Walter W. Timoshuk. “We are delighted that our visitors will have the opportunity to experience this remarkable painting, which has never before been seen in Los Angeles.” The Painting Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) is one of the world’s most venerated artists, yet he left behind only a few dozen paintings and no drawings or prints. While he rarely dated his pictures, experts place A Lady Writing in the mid-1660s. The painting depicts a young woman, sitting at a desk, wearing an ermine-trimmed yellow morning jacket (which viewers may recognize from Vermeer’s other paintings Woman with a Pearl Necklace, The Love Letter, Woman with a Lute, and Mistress and Maid), pearl earrings, and golden ribbons in her hair. A strand of pearls and a ribbon rest on the desk near her left hand. While she is poised to write, with a quill pen in her right hand, her left hand resting on a piece of paper, and ink wells and a writing box on her desk, her gaze is not at her letter but rather at the viewer. Her slight smile and open expression draw the viewer into the picture. As with his other paintings, Vermeer has transformed the depiction of everyday activities into a compelling and captivating scene. In 2007 the Norton Simon foundations entered a new phase in their history by forming an art exchange program with both the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and The Frick Collection in New York City. Works of art from the Norton Simon foundations will be lent to both of these estimable institutions for special viewings and, in return, masterpieces from their collections will make their way to the Norton Simon Museum. The exchange is an opportunity to promote the Norton Simon collections to a much wider audience while simultaneously providing Southern California audiences the chance to view some of the world’s most significant and visually compelling paintings. Visit The Norton Simon Museum at : http://www.nortonsimon.org/ Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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