"Detail from Vermeer's Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window" (oil on linen; 12" x 12')

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The painting is the copy of a detail from "Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window" (c 1657–59) by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer. The well-preserved painting is on display at the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden. For many years, the attribution of the painting was lost, with first Rembrandt and then Pieter de Hooch being credited for the work before it was properly identified in 1880. After World War II, the painting was briefly in possession of the Soviet Union.

A pretty intimidating painting to copy, don't you think? Look at the girl's ringlets, intricate dress, and her reflection on the window panes. I am learning much through these copying efforts.

"Detail from Vermeer's Girl with a Red Hat" (oil on linen; 10" x 8")

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The painting is the copy of a detail from "Girl with a Red Hat" (c. 1665–1666) by the Dutch Old Master Johannes Vermeer.  The original hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

"Girl with a Red Hat" is a rather small painting (9.1" × 7.1").  I was indeed shocked at the size when I first saw it at the NGA, even for Vermeer, whose masterpieces are known for their intimate scale.  My copy is of a slightly larger size, a tiny bit of the bottom cropped off, along with a simplified background, to make it a version of the original.  It is seen as one of a number of Vermeer's tronies – depictions of models fancifully dressed that were not intended to be portraits of specific, identifiable subjects.
 

"Detail from Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earing'" (oil on linen; 10" x 8")

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The painting is the copy of a detail from "Girl with a Pearl Earing" (1665) by the Dutch Old Master Johannes Vermeer. The original hangs in the Mauritshuis in The Hague in the Netherlands.

The most beloved painting by Vermeer is a tronie, the Dutch 17th-century description of a 'head' that was not meant to be a portrait. It depicts a European girl wearing an exotic dress, an oriental turban, and an improbably large pearl earring.

In case you are wondering about these copies of masterpieces I have been posting lately, they are for my own pleasure and education. I carefully select my favorite paintings of Old and Modern masters and copy details from them as best as I can, observing the brushstrokes, color blending, facial modeling, and so on. I sometimes go to a museum if it is nearby to look at the originals for accurate coloring and take my own pictures. It has been highly educational and rewarding process so far, and I intend to do many more for the next few years. Perhaps trips to Amsterdam, London, Paris, Rome, New York, etc. are in order?

"Detail from Rembrandt's Self-Portrait" (oil on linen; 10" x 8")

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The painting is the copy of a detail from "Self-Portrait" by the Dutch Old Master Rembrandt van Rijn. The original hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Rembrandt painted many self-portraits in his lifetime. He painted this self-portrait in 1659, after he had suffered financial failure despite so many years of success. His spacious house and other possessions had been auctioned the previous year to satisfy his creditors. In this late work, the deep-set eyes that bore into those of the viewer seem to express inner strength and dignity.