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Discover hidden details in Vermeer's paintings over here!

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Discover Hidden Details in 7 Famous Works by Vermeer - Google Arts & Culture

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Google Arts & Culture features content from over 2000 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online.

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Daulat has described himself as "the least of the houseborn" in a signature. While there are other "formulaic expressions of humility" of the type expected in the Mughal court, though Daulat has taken these further than most; his inscription on the Gulshan Album page with his self-portrait ends "Written by the lowly, needy, insignificant, Daulat". He has from time to time punned on his name, which means "empire".

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Did you know that Johannes Vermeer stayed in one house for his entire life? He had his studio in the front room of the first floor, which offered him plenty of light.

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The above is a portrait of Abu al-Hasan, a Mughal painter of miniatures by Daulat. It was created around the year 1610.

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An Old Man and His Young Wife Before Religious Arbitrators

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An Old Man and His Young Wife Before Religious Arbitrators

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This painting by Daulat made some time between 1610-1615 illustrates a scene from the Gulistan of Sa'di (The Flower Garden), a 13th century poetic collection of moral tales, and probably one of the most influential pieces of Persian literature of its time. In this story, an old man takes on a much younger wife, named Pearl, but is unable to consummate the marriage. Complaining of his wife's inadequacies but unable to see his own, the old man takes the issue up with the local qadi (magistrate), seated at the right of the scene.

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The Art of Painting or The Allegory of Painting is an oil on canvas painting by Johannes Vermeer, created some time between 1666 and 1668 and 1.2 square meters large. It is considered a significant piece for Vermeer because he did not part with it or sell it, even when he was in debt. Even after his death, his widow Catharina bequeathed it to her mother in an attempt to avoid selling the painting to satisfy creditors.

It depicts an artist (presumed to be a self portrait of Vermeer) painting a woman dressed in blue posing as a model in his studio. The subject is standing by a window and a large map of the Low Countries (region of north-western Europe consisting of Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands) hangs on the wall behind.

Many art historian believe that it is an allegory of painting, thus its alternate name. The woman is thought to symbolise Clio, the Muse of History evidenced by her wearing a laurel wreath, holding a trumpet, possibly carrying a book by Herodotus or Thucydides, who were Greek historians (among other things). This is thought to represent the fact that a painter's resources are poetry and history, or that painters can have their name written down in history.

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Perhaps one of Vermeer's most famous paintings is the Girl with a Pearl Earring, an oil painting created by him circa 1665.

The painting depicts a European girl wearing an exotic dress and an oriental (of, from, or characteristic of Asia, especially East Asia) turban, and what seems to be a pearl earring. However, Vincent Icke (a Dutch astrophysicist) has argued that it looks more like polished tin than pearl based on the specular reflection, the pear shape and the large size of the earring.

So what do you think, is this a Girl with a Pearl Earring or a Girl with a Polished Tin Earring?

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Colophon portrait from the Khamsa of Nizami

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Daulat's art style can be identified by his large figures with narrow shoulders and the bright palette emphasised by the pronounced contour shading. His facial types are quite individualized, but share dark features, full cheeks and large, staring eyes, the latter frequently directed at the viewer. He was also skilled in gold illumination.

He has been said to have an "unusual self-conscious", even in his earlier works. One can find at least two self portraits, both made at the request of the emperor.

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colophon portrait from the khamsa of nizami

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Vermeer was probably the only artist from the 17th century to use lapis lazuli (an ultramarine semi-precious stone prized for its rich colour) so lavishly and so early in his career. He used it for items that were not only its colour, but also in mixtures; for instance, mixed with yellow lake or lead–tin yellow to make green, or in small quantities with white paint to make it appear even whiter.

Vermeer's generous use of natural ultramarine just shows how perceptive the artist was. He must have noticed that a mixture of genuine ultramarine with tones of grey, usually composed of lead white, bone black and raw umber in varying proportions, lends them a characteristic luminosity produced by intense daylight which cannot be produced otherwise.

Vermeer is famed for his almost photorealistic attention to detail and ability to depict the effect of light on various surfaces. Due to this, many scholars have debated over whether he (and other artists) used a camera obscura to help him paint.

Most of Johannes Vermeer's paintings show women reading or writing letters, playing musical instruments, or adorning themselves with jewellery. Vermeer sought ways to express a sense of inner harmony within everyday life, primarily in the confines of a private chamber.

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A gif on Vermeer's Woman Holding a Balance

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Muhammad Daulat was a miniature painter during the 17th century, and was one of the leading artists in Mughal painting. He painted under the reigns of Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

His father, L'al, served in the imperial court, probably as one of the artists in the imperial workshop. Daulat trained there and was an active painter by the mid-1590s, and stayed for the whole of his career. He stopped painting around 1635-1640.

His brother Daud (Da'ud) was also an artist, and is usually referred to as "Daud, brother of Daulat".

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Supposed self portrait of Johannes Vermeer

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Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was a Dutch artist during the Baroque Period, and is one of the most revered and talented artists in history. He mainly painted a domestic world occupied (if not animated) mainly by women, whose postures, behaviour, and in a few cases, expressions indicate close study and sympathy. While he was a moderately successful painter, he did not create many paintings and was not very wealthy.

It is unknown under who Vermeer apprenticed, however there is some speculation that Carel Fabritius was his teacher. Max Liedte, a German journalist proposed that he taught himself using one of his father's (Reijnier Janszoon, a middle-class worker of silk or caffa) connections. Some scholars think that Vermeer was trained under the Catholic painter Abraham Bloemaert.

Vermeer began his painting career in the early 1650s. He has  made almost 50 paintings, of which only 34 have been preserved.

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Johannes Vermeer and Daulat are both moderately well known and extremely skilled artists who painted mainly during the 17th century. Vermeer is most known for his painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and Daulat has worked under Akbar, Jahangir and Shah Jahan.

Read on to learn more about them, and compare these two talented painters.