Project2: Room and Narrative

Understanding of the Painting

The Astronomer(1668) by Johannes Vermeer

One of Jon Vermeer greatest and detailed work, finished in 1668 that captured the mood of Baroque era. It is a portrait of an astronomer in his office, examining a globe, seated by a glass window which is the only natural source of light in the room, otherwise it is a dark room. The astronomer is a wealthy scientist, as he can afford a glass window in his office, which glass window considered as a very expensive material in 70's period, he also can afford a paintings in his walls as well as a shelf of book. The book is open, hand reaching a globe, facial expression showing that he may just had made a great discovery.

The painting is not just a single man painting, it it is a dawn of the new era of logical thought and scientific revolution, in which the paintings in that era were mostly dedicated for churches and mostly concentrating on Christianity. The color and light complexity in the painting captures the human fascination with the complexities of world around us. The decoration in the window, resulting the less sun light entering the room. The room is quite dark resulting from the other window besides the cupboards closed. The single light source was meant to be concentrated on contemplative scholar and celestial globe, creating an air of mystery in keeping with the study of astronomy.