The painting shows three figures: a prostitute on the left, the client in the middle and the procuress on the right pointing to her palm to indicate that she is expecting payment. The client is holding a coin between his fingers as he puts his arm around the prostitute, who is playing a lute. The painting is an example of the popular genre known as Bordeeltjes, or brothel scenes (see also the overlapping genre of Merry company scenes).[1] The cropped, close-up figures close to the picture plane against a flat blank background are typical of Utrecht Caravaggism.[2]
Vermeer's The Concert in which The Procuress hangs on the wall at the upper rightVermeer's Lady Seated at a Virginal, in which The Procuress hangs on the wall behind the figure
One of these paintings was owned by Vermeer's mother-in-law, and it may have been an influence on one of his own early paintings on a similar subject, also known as The Procuress (1656).[2] It also appears in the background of two of Vermeer's later paintings, The Concert (c.1664) and Lady Seated at a Virginal (c.1670). In both of these later paintings the blatant lust depicted by Baburen is contrasted with the genteel, but erotically charged, middle-class world occupied by Vermeer's women. The contrast between the images may also imply "a more general association between music and love".[6] Vermeer sets up a series of contrasts between his own delicate, restrained style and Baburen's vulgar realism. According to Michael Wayne Cole and Mary Pardo this represents Vermeer's own move away from such low-life subjects. The older, cruder style of Baburen is relegated to the background, "eclipsing it with the more modern kind of genteel subject that Vermeer would soon paint exclusively".[7]
The Courtauld Institute versionedit
The Courtauld Institute copy, believed to be a van Meegeren forgery
In 1960, Geoffrey Webb presented a version of the painting to the Courtauld Institute. At the end of the Second World War, he had been an allied officer in Europe investigating art works looted by the Nazis. He believed it was a fake painted by Han van Meegeren, and he presented it to the Courtauld as such. In his own defense, van Meegeren claimed that the painting had been bought in an antique shop by his wife.[8] Although the painting was initially believed to be a fake, its authenticity remained controversial, and in 2009 a scientific study indicated that the painting was likely to be genuine, as no modern pigments were found. A spokesperson for the gallery stated that they were "surprised" by the results, but that the evidence indicated that it was "likely to be a 17th-century painting".[9]
Following this, the BBC TV programme Fake or Fortune? conducted a further investigation.[5] The resulting film was first shown July 2011.[5]Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce traveled to Amsterdam where they obtained samples of the paints used by van Meegeren.[5] These included an artificial resin which turned out to be Bakelite.[5] The use of Bakelite had the effect of hardening the paint and thus making it difficult to detect that it was new.[5] Chemical analysis showed Bakelite in the Courtauld painting, thus confirming that it was a modern forgery.[5] Van Meegeren is the only forger known to have used this technique, so the painting was attributed to him.[5] It was probably intended to be used as a prop in Vermeer forgeries.[5] Ironically, it is now more valuable as a van Meegeren forgery than as a 17th-century studio copy.[5]
^"National Gallery". National Gallery. 8 September 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
^Michael Wayne Cole, Mary Pardo, Inventions of the studio, Renaissance to Romanticism, UNC Press Books, 2005, p.206.
^"report in the Telegraph". Telegraph.co.uk. 2 July 2011. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
^Akbar, Arifa (28 September 2009). "Independent article". Independent article. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
External linksedit
Media related to The Procuress by Dirck van Baburen at Wikimedia Commons
January 01, 1970
procuress, dirck, baburen, procuress, name, given, number, similar, paintings, dutch, golden, painter, dirck, baburen, painting, caravaggiesque, style, utrecht, school, procuressartistdirck, baburenyearc, 1622mediumoil, canvasdimensions101, locationmuseum, fin. The Procuress is the name given to a number of similar paintings by the Dutch Golden Age painter Dirck van Baburen The painting is in the Caravaggiesque style of the Utrecht school The ProcuressArtistDirck van BaburenYearc 1622MediumOil on canvasDimensions101 6 cm 107 6 cm 40 0 in 42 4 in LocationMuseum of Fine Arts Boston Boston Contents 1 Description 2 Vermeer 3 The Courtauld Institute version 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksDescription editThe painting shows three figures a prostitute on the left the client in the middle and the procuress on the right pointing to her palm to indicate that she is expecting payment The client is holding a coin between his fingers as he puts his arm around the prostitute who is playing a lute The painting is an example of the popular genre known as Bordeeltjes or brothel scenes see also the overlapping genre of Merry company scenes 1 The cropped close up figures close to the picture plane against a flat blank background are typical of Utrecht Caravaggism 2 There are at least three versions of the painting The versions in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam 3 and the Museum of Fine Arts Boston 4 are attributed to Dirck van Baburen or his studio One copy of the painting was owned by Maria Thins mother in law of Johannes Vermeer who reproduced it in the background of two of his own paintings A copy owned by the Courtauld Institute in London has been identified as the work of the forger Han van Meegeren This was featured in the third episode of the BBC TV series Fake or Fortune 5 Vermeer edit nbsp Vermeer s The Concert in which The Procuress hangs on the wall at the upper right nbsp Vermeer s Lady Seated at a Virginal in which The Procuress hangs on the wall behind the figure One of these paintings was owned by Vermeer s mother in law and it may have been an influence on one of his own early paintings on a similar subject also known as The Procuress 1656 2 It also appears in the background of two of Vermeer s later paintings The Concert c 1664 and Lady Seated at a Virginal c 1670 In both of these later paintings the blatant lust depicted by Baburen is contrasted with the genteel but erotically charged middle class world occupied by Vermeer s women The contrast between the images may also imply a more general association between music and love 6 Vermeer sets up a series of contrasts between his own delicate restrained style and Baburen s vulgar realism According to Michael Wayne Cole and Mary Pardo this represents Vermeer s own move away from such low life subjects The older cruder style of Baburen is relegated to the background eclipsing it with the more modern kind of genteel subject that Vermeer would soon paint exclusively 7 The Courtauld Institute version edit nbsp The Courtauld Institute copy believed to be a van Meegeren forgery In 1960 Geoffrey Webb presented a version of the painting to the Courtauld Institute At the end of the Second World War he had been an allied officer in Europe investigating art works looted by the Nazis He believed it was a fake painted by Han van Meegeren and he presented it to the Courtauld as such In his own defense van Meegeren claimed that the painting had been bought in an antique shop by his wife 8 Although the painting was initially believed to be a fake its authenticity remained controversial and in 2009 a scientific study indicated that the painting was likely to be genuine as no modern pigments were found A spokesperson for the gallery stated that they were surprised by the results but that the evidence indicated that it was likely to be a 17th century painting 9 Following this the BBC TV programme Fake or Fortune conducted a further investigation 5 The resulting film was first shown July 2011 5 Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce traveled to Amsterdam where they obtained samples of the paints used by van Meegeren 5 These included an artificial resin which turned out to be Bakelite 5 The use of Bakelite had the effect of hardening the paint and thus making it difficult to detect that it was new 5 Chemical analysis showed Bakelite in the Courtauld painting thus confirming that it was a modern forgery 5 Van Meegeren is the only forger known to have used this technique so the painting was attributed to him 5 It was probably intended to be used as a prop in Vermeer forgeries 5 Ironically it is now more valuable as a van Meegeren forgery than as a 17th century studio copy 5 See also editAviva Burnstock The Proposition painting References edit Norbert Schneider Vermeer 1632 1675 veiled emotions Taschen 2000 p 24 a b John Michael Montias Vermeer and His Milieu A Web of Social History Princeton University Press 1991 p 146 Rijksmuseum catalogue MFA catalogue Mfa org Retrieved 11 December 2013 a b c d e f g h i j Van Meegeren Fake or Fortune Episode 3 3 July 2011 BBC Retrieved 4 August 2011 National Gallery National Gallery 8 September 2013 Retrieved 11 December 2013 Michael Wayne Cole Mary Pardo Inventions of the studio Renaissance to Romanticism UNC Press Books 2005 p 206 report in the Telegraph Telegraph co uk 2 July 2011 Retrieved 11 December 2013 Akbar Arifa 28 September 2009 Independent article Independent article Archived from the original on 18 June 2022 Retrieved 11 December 2013 External links edit nbsp Media related to The Procuress by Dirck van Baburen at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Procuress Dirck van Baburen amp oldid 1183093108, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
