Vermeer's Golden Moment.
‘Vermeer's Golden Moment’ by Graham Johnstone - pitch
The 17th Century ‘Dutch Golden Age’ - we see the modern world taking shape, with rapid development in science and commerce as well as art. Vermeer is of this time yet points to later developments such as impressionism, photography ands even cinematography and installation art. He juggled creative ambition with economic and domestic realities in turbulent times: a story the author and hopefully readers can easily relate to. While rooted in the known facts, it’s a creative imagining of Vermeer as ambitious and intense, increasingly introverted, and possibly bipolar.
Visual style - Key images are based on Vermeer (or contemporary) paintings. Rendered in appropriate style e.g. built up not with line but with with tonal areas [c/f Sin City] in sepia, overlaid with colour washes. We see his key paintings being created step by step.
Prologue -1945 - salt mines in Austria. Allied forces find Hitlers art horde. A soldier pulls back a nazi flag to reveal Vermeer’s masterpiece - The Art of Painting. 1946 - A U.S. ‘monuments man’ presents it to the curator of the Dutch Rijksmuseum, asking about Hitler’s fascination with it; “We can only speculate what Vermeer thought based on the few facts we have, his place in the world, and of course the paintings themselves…”
Part One - 1652 - Delft, Dutch Republic. “De Hooch catches the light, but the figures seem frozen as if time has stopped. I want to paint life’s fleeting moments.” We join young Johannes Vermeer as his father dies, leaving him to help his mother run a tavern, and an art dealership, while pursuing his own career as a painter. Johannes’ grandfather had ‘lost everything’ in misadventures including counterfeiting and a failed coup. Johannes strives to better his circumstances, and marry catholic girl Catharina, but has to convince her mother that this young protestant can be a suitable husband…
1655 - An exhibition at the artists guild commemorates the recent Delft explosion which destroyed much of the city. We learn more of the characters of Vermeer’s world: rival painter de Hooch; the flamboyant Bramer fresh from painting and night life in Rome; the worldly Captain Melling, now of the East Indies Company; van Ruijven the idle rich collector; and Leeuwenhoek the lens-maker charting heaven, earth, and life within a drop of water. As they expound on the issues of the day, and the transience of life, Vermeer is called away to learn of the death of his child.
Part Two -1657 - Vermeer channels his grief into Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window. This and his other paintings are applauded. As Vermeer paints Catharina for Woman Holding a Balance they argue over their relationship, money, and his limited output. Van Ruijven has become a regular buyer but Vermeer finds his requests restricting. A buyer visits but Vermeer has no finished paintings to show and refuses to let him into his studio. He persuades Catharina and her mother that he should create and keep a ‘showpiece’ painting, He takes the theme his rival de Hooch is rendering in the guild hall: The Art of Painting.
Part Three -1667 - The Art of Painting is acclaimed but creates a standard he struggles to surpass. He becomes head of the Guild, which fuels tension with de Hooch and other artists. He is increasingly competitive and secretive, confiding only in Leewunhoek, who he paints as The Geographer and The Astronomer. We see that he helps Vermeer use optical tools to create his paintings. Vermeer explores and doubts his adopted catholicism with Catherina as he paints her for Allegory of Faith. This is less well received, and he returns to more intimate paintings like The Guitar Player. Mounting debts at home and with the Guild, put increasing pressure on Vermeer. The Dutch ‘year of disaster’ with war and bankruptcy proves too much and this kills him in 1675. His death is conveyed in a stream of consciousness recapping and extrapolating on images from the book. We finally see him sail out Delft bay on his ice-boat with ghosts of his dead children.
Epilogue - 1946 to present - The conversation from the prologue concludes, and the ‘monuments man’ (present day - now elderly) updates us on Vermeer’s increasing reputation and influence, etc.
The 17th Century ‘Dutch Golden Age’ - we see the modern world taking shape, with rapid development in science and commerce as well as art. Vermeer is of this time yet points to later developments such as impressionism, photography ands even cinematography and installation art. He juggled creative ambition with economic and domestic realities in turbulent times: a story the author and hopefully readers can easily relate to. While rooted in the known facts, it’s a creative imagining of Vermeer as ambitious and intense, increasingly introverted, and possibly bipolar.
Visual style - Key images are based on Vermeer (or contemporary) paintings. Rendered in appropriate style e.g. built up not with line but with with tonal areas [c/f Sin City] in sepia, overlaid with colour washes. We see his key paintings being created step by step.
Prologue -1945 - salt mines in Austria. Allied forces find Hitlers art horde. A soldier pulls back a nazi flag to reveal Vermeer’s masterpiece - The Art of Painting. 1946 - A U.S. ‘monuments man’ presents it to the curator of the Dutch Rijksmuseum, asking about Hitler’s fascination with it; “We can only speculate what Vermeer thought based on the few facts we have, his place in the world, and of course the paintings themselves…”
Part One - 1652 - Delft, Dutch Republic. “De Hooch catches the light, but the figures seem frozen as if time has stopped. I want to paint life’s fleeting moments.” We join young Johannes Vermeer as his father dies, leaving him to help his mother run a tavern, and an art dealership, while pursuing his own career as a painter. Johannes’ grandfather had ‘lost everything’ in misadventures including counterfeiting and a failed coup. Johannes strives to better his circumstances, and marry catholic girl Catharina, but has to convince her mother that this young protestant can be a suitable husband…
1655 - An exhibition at the artists guild commemorates the recent Delft explosion which destroyed much of the city. We learn more of the characters of Vermeer’s world: rival painter de Hooch; the flamboyant Bramer fresh from painting and night life in Rome; the worldly Captain Melling, now of the East Indies Company; van Ruijven the idle rich collector; and Leeuwenhoek the lens-maker charting heaven, earth, and life within a drop of water. As they expound on the issues of the day, and the transience of life, Vermeer is called away to learn of the death of his child.
Part Two -1657 - Vermeer channels his grief into Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window. This and his other paintings are applauded. As Vermeer paints Catharina for Woman Holding a Balance they argue over their relationship, money, and his limited output. Van Ruijven has become a regular buyer but Vermeer finds his requests restricting. A buyer visits but Vermeer has no finished paintings to show and refuses to let him into his studio. He persuades Catharina and her mother that he should create and keep a ‘showpiece’ painting, He takes the theme his rival de Hooch is rendering in the guild hall: The Art of Painting.
Part Three -1667 - The Art of Painting is acclaimed but creates a standard he struggles to surpass. He becomes head of the Guild, which fuels tension with de Hooch and other artists. He is increasingly competitive and secretive, confiding only in Leewunhoek, who he paints as The Geographer and The Astronomer. We see that he helps Vermeer use optical tools to create his paintings. Vermeer explores and doubts his adopted catholicism with Catherina as he paints her for Allegory of Faith. This is less well received, and he returns to more intimate paintings like The Guitar Player. Mounting debts at home and with the Guild, put increasing pressure on Vermeer. The Dutch ‘year of disaster’ with war and bankruptcy proves too much and this kills him in 1675. His death is conveyed in a stream of consciousness recapping and extrapolating on images from the book. We finally see him sail out Delft bay on his ice-boat with ghosts of his dead children.
Epilogue - 1946 to present - The conversation from the prologue concludes, and the ‘monuments man’ (present day - now elderly) updates us on Vermeer’s increasing reputation and influence, etc.