The Geographer

For the next four Sundays we will present masterpieces from the fantastic collection of Städel Museum. Enjoy!

[…] skilfully and masterfully executed’
From a description of the work in the auction catalog of the Jan Danser Nyman collection Amsterdam, 1797.

The importance of the sciences increased by leaps and bounds in the seventeenth century, particularly in Holland. That development is evident, for example, in the fact that scientists and scholars became popular pictorial motifs, as in this painting. Here Johannes Vermeer, the famous fijnschilder (fine painter) of Delft with the small oeuvre, depicted a geographer in his study, leaning over his work table, surrounded by the utensils of his erudition. He is alone and apparently expecting no visitors; there are papers lying around on the floor, and the housecoat he wears is another sign of his immersion in his work. There is no movement whatsoever in the scene; even the subject’s right hand has paused mid-motion. The only action is taking place inside his mind. He is literally bathed in the light of recognition. The atmosphere is of a density that makes the weight of the moment palpable. Bent over his papers, compass in hand, the geographer lifts his gaze towards the light pouring in through the window, as if he has just at this very instant hit upon a means of solving his problem. The actual nature of that problem is a secret the painting keeps to itself.