The Concert Reproduction - Post 1

Toning Raw Umber - Stage 1

The Concert - Johannes Vermeer

Did you know that there is a $5 Million dollar reward for information leading to the recovery of the art that was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum back in March of 1990?  

Among the paintings stolen from the Isabella Gardener Museum in Boston in that infamous theft was a Johannes Vermeer painting entitled, "The Concert."   Of all the paintings stolen, including Rembrandt's "Storm on the Sea of Galilee" and "A Lady and Gentleman in Black",  "The Concert" is considered by some experts to be the painting having the highest monetary value.

You may have seen my prior post which discusses a watercolor done by copying an image of Rembrandt's  "Storm on the Sea of Galilee."    A full 25% of the total views of my blog are the result of a search engine hit on "Storm on the Sea of Galilee."   I see this fact as proof that there are a lot of people out there doing remote queries in search of a painting that could lead to a $5M score!

Sketch in Paint - Stage 2

On my website I have other reproductions such as Fog Warning by Winslow Homer, El Jaleo by John Singer Sargent and an outdoor work inspired by Monet's Poppies at Argentuil.  It was educational and inspiring to paint these phenomenal art treasures.   There is no better way to study a work of art than to paint every last detail of it for yourself.

My goal in painting "The Concert" was to better understand Vermeer's palette and processes.  I cut, marked and mounted a canvas that was exactly the size of the original (28.5 x 25.5 inches).   Since this was a non-standard size, it was mounted on a slightly bigger customized frame, and as a result, there was extra canvas at the top and bottom.  See Stage 2 photo.


It seemed overwhelming at first, so I decided to start with the floor and walls. The black and white tile floor required careful measuring in achieving the proper perspective.   There were white tiles in shadows that were nearly as dark as the black tiles in light.   I concentrated more on the accuracy of the black tiles since the white tiles could be painted after the black tiles dried without extraordinary care by way of overlapping brushstrokes.


After Vermeer - Stage 3

As for the walls, after each painting session, I would rub out the remaining color of my grayer, duller, "dirty" brushes to cover the wall.  A smoky muted look started to develop which is characteristic of Vermeer's work. 

There was so much to learn and paint from this masterpiece.  There will be multiple posts on this one.