The Concert Reproduction - Post 5 and Final

Have you seen this painting?   If you spot the original in your grandmother's attic or a flea market, and, it is in good condition - and - you can point the authorities to it, you may be able to collect the reward money - a mere $5 million.   You can read much more about the famous heist at the following website.

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/resources/theft

Meanwhile, if you have been following my blog posts on "The Concert", you have seen the development of my copy of the painting.   Its dimensions are just about the same as the original, an odd 28.5 X 25.5 inches.   The "almost" square size was the one that Vermeer liked, but of course, with his mastery of composition, he could make any size work.

My version of the painting is now mounted on the stretcher frame that my husband made (see Post 4).   It literally sounds like a bass drum when tapped.   Once it was mounted on this final support, I finished up by cleaning up the edges, downplaying the paintings on the wall, and adding some scumbling to the wall to hopefully bring the brightness from the left windows to life.

Empty Frame at Gardner Museum "The Concert"

I scoped out the framing options and discovered that a frame that the original's frame, the one that sits empty in the Gardner Museum would cost at least $3,000.   Not bloody likely!   I ordered an ornate gold frame that has some similarities to the empty one in the photo to the left.

So what did I learn from this experience?

Vezina Reproduction of Vermeer's "The Concert"

There was significant planning done by Vermeer in creating the composition.   The painting depicts the three music enthusiasts, but the interpretations of their relationships, given the paintings on the wall, have created multiple theories.   Interesting paintings don't spell everything out.

From a technical perspective, the geometric interest and alignment that Vermeer created by way of the linear elements such as the square pictures on the walls, the marble floor tiles and the placement of the subjects squared to the walls is a way to introduce complexity and even control how the viewer scans the painting.

As for colors and pigments, I learned that mimicking the painting from a modern day image is hardly an accurate representation of the painting from back in the 1600's.    Vermeer's favorite pigment, ultramarine blue, is almost absent from his works, including "The Concert."   One expert theorizes that the expensive blue was used in the painting, but has deteriorated to the point of barely seeming blue.   The flesh tones that look greenish in the digital images are also thought to be the result of deteriorated vernillion and yellow lake pigments.

The lessons do not end here, but the blog posts do as this is the final post on this painting.  If you paint, try a reproduction.   I guarantee you will be glad you did.