The Astronomer (Vermeer)
The Astronomer | |
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Musée du Louvre, Paris |
The Astronomer (Dutch: De astronoom) is a painting finished in about 1668 by the
Description
Portrayals of scientists were a favourite topic in 17th-century Dutch painting[1] and Vermeer's oeuvre includes both this astronomer and the slightly later The Geographer. Both are believed to portray the same man,[2][3][4] possibly Antonie van Leeuwenhoek.[5] A 2017 study indicated that the canvas for the two works came from the same bolt of material, confirming their close relationship.[6]
The painting shows an astronomer looking at a globe. The astronomer's profession is shown by the celestial globe (version by Jodocus Hondius) and the book on the table, the 1621 edition of Adriaan Metius's Institutiones Astronomicae Geographicae.[2][3][4][7] Symbolically, the volume is open to Book III, a section advising the astronomer to seek "inspiration from God" and the painting on the wall shows the Finding of Moses—Moses may represent knowledge and science ("learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians").[8]
Provenance
The provenance of The Astronomer can be traced back to 27 April 1713, when it was sold at the Rotterdam sale of an unknown collector (possibly Adriaen Paets or his father, of Rotterdam) together with The Geographer. The presumed buyer was Hendrik Sorgh, whose estate sale held in Amsterdam on 28 March 1720 included both The Astronomer and The Geographer, which were described as 'Een Astrologist: door Vermeer van Delft, extra puyk' ('An Astrologist by Vermeer of Delft, top-notch') and 'Een weerga, van ditto, niet minder' ('Similar by ditto, no less').
Between 1881 and 1888 it was sold by the Paris art dealer
See also
- List of paintings by Johannes Vermeer
- The Astronomer and his Wife, earlier painting by Gonzales Coques
References
- ^ "L'Astronome ou plutôt L'Astrologue". Atlas: the database of the exhibited works of art (in French). Musée du Louvre. Retrieved 2006-10-14.
- ^ ISBN 0-8050-6930-5.
- ^ a b Bailey, Martin (1995). Vermeer. pp. 102–104.
- ^ ISBN 90-400-9825-5.
- ^ Van Berkel, K. (February 24, 1996). Vermeer, Van Leeuwenhoek en De Astronoom. Vrij Nederland (Dutch magazine), p. 62–67.
- .
- .
- ^ Acts 7:22
- ISBN 9781850439141.
- ^ ISBN 0-465-04191-4.
- ^ "L'Astronome". Communauté Louvre (in French). Musée du Louvre. Retrieved 2010-02-16.
- ^ Abbe, Mary (15 October 2009). "Louvre show at MIA has Hitler's favorite painting". Star Tribune. Minneapolis.
Further reading
- ISBN 978-0-87099-973-4.
- Metius, Adriaan (1621). Institutiones Astronomicae Geographicae (in Dutch). Amsterdam.