Art Lesson w/ Ms. Jennifer: Johannes Vermeer
Let’s express ourselves by drawing a room in perspective, like Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer.
About the Artist:
Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter, born in Delft in 1632. He was born into a family of art, as his father was a weaver and art dealer. Johannes and his wife had 14 children, and he had to work very hard to feed his family.
Later, Pieter van Ruijven, one of the most wealthy men in town, became Vermeer’s patron. As patrons do, Ruijven bought many of Vermeer’s paintings and made sure he had canvas, paints, and brushes so he could work. Having a patron meant that Vermeer could use the color blue in his paintings, a very expensive color in the 1600s because it was made out of the semi-precious stone, lapis lazuli. And use blue he did. Look at the headband on this his most famous painting, “Girl with the Pearl Earring.”
Today, we will focus on Vermeer’s use of the formulas of perspective. Perspective creates the illusion of receding 3 dimensional space on a flat paper or canvas. Look at the lines on the floor and walls, the panes of the windows, or furniture that Vermeer so skillfully painted. You get the feeling of being able to step inside these rooms.
Try your hand at making a perspective drawing of a room by folding your paper, and using a straightedge and a vanishing point.
This is a more advanced project, so for younger artists, I suggest just learning about Vermeer, then coloring the following images of his famous works. Before coloring, use a ruler or straight edge to look at how the artist used perspective and vanishing points.
Here are some of Vermeer’s most famous works. Look closely at the perspective of each room and its objects.
Watch Ms. Jennifer create her perspective drawing
Materials:
Square piece of paper. (Fold a rectangular piece one corner to one edge, then cut the extra part below the triangle you created)
Straight edge - this could be a ruler, or just the edge of a notebook back or folder. Something straight and stiff.
Pencil and eraser. A light hand with the pencil will make your marks easier to erase.
Colored pencils if you wish to add color to your detailed drawing.
Instructions:
Fold one corner of your rectangular paper to the opposite side, forming a triangle. Draw a line then cut off the extra narrow rectangle. You should now have a square paper.
Make a second diagonal fold. When you unfold it, you have an X in the center of your paper. Draw a small dot there. This is your VANISHING POINT.
Make a 4” horizontal line from one leg of the X to the other. Make it parallel to the edge of the paper. This is where the back wall and floor of your room meet. Draw a line above this, also 4” between the top arms of your X. Now draw vertical lines connecting the side walls. Do you see the back wall now?
Now to make the floor tile or boards. For tile, measure every 1-2” along the bottom edge of your paper and make a small dot. Now using a straight edge, carefully connect each dot to the vanishing point. Stop at the bottom edge of the wall. Repeat for each dot.
Now make the cross lines for your tile. Draw a faint line connecting one corner of the back wall to the opposite corner of the front of your page. Make a dot where this line intersects with your floor lines. Where each dot lies, make a horizontal line parallel to the front edge of your paper. Take your time!
Now you can add doors and windows and furniture if desired. Remember that every line should be either vertical or connect to your vanishing point. To make a window, Make two vertical lines on your side wall. Now draw diagonal lines to the vanishing point between these two vertical lines. Erase any overlap. Draw a frame, sill or sashing in the same way.
Continue to add elements to your room, always using the vanishing point and your straight edge. If you wish to add color, colored pencils or fine tip markers are a good choice to maintain the detail you have created.
For Doodlebugs Ages 2-5:
Materials:
Paper
Markers, crayons, or pencils
Instructions:
Practice drawing straight vertical lines on your paper, starting at the top and pulling the line toward your body.
Once your Doodlebug is able to control their vertical lines, practice making horizontal, then diagonal lines. Start at the side of the paper opposite their dominant drawing hand, and pull the line across the paper toward the dominant side.
Practice making short and long lines, discussing the direction in words such as up/down, top/bottom, small/large, etc.
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