Did Vermeer Use A Camera Obscura, Or Not?

Researching the forthcoming drawing workshop at The Queen's Gallery (this Sunday, 1st May) I have been looking at the different sides of the debate regarding the use of a camera obscura by the great 17th Dutch painter Jan Vermeer whose masterpiece The Music Lesson  is the central exhibit in the current exhibition at Holyroodhouse. In brief, many artists have over the centuries employed lenses, mirrors and optical devices to project an image of their subject on to the canvas as a means of drawing and then painting more precisely. The issue can be controversial as for some this approach can seem like cheating. Most recently David Hockney has written about and demonstrated the use of lenses/mirrors by artists as early as the time of the Renaissance in his book Secret Knowledge, much to the disagreement of art historians who say that in  many cases there is no documentary evidence recording the use of such apparatus. To which Hockney responds that artists have always jealously guarded the tricks of their trade and wouldn't necessarily publicise such secret knowledge. Hockney's examination of artist such as Holbein and Ingres is pretty convincing as he demonstrates distorted perspective, inconsistent proportions caused by refocussing lenses and even a predominance of left-handed people a result of the reversing effects of mirrors and lenses. Vermeer's case is tantalisingly ambivalent: his friend was a lens maker, his still life elements portray out of focus and halo-like light effects only seen via lenses and mirrors, his draughtsmanship is exceptional precise. But on the other hand at the time of his death he is not recorded as having owned a camera obscura and his accuracy in perspective could also be explained by the use of string to generate straight lines leading from a vanishing point and many of his canvases have been examined and reveal pin-pricks exactly where the vanishing points would be.
On Sunday 1st May the Drawing Workshop The Art and Science of Vermeer will begin at the Camera Obscura at the top of the Royal Mile and allow participants to actually use this 'dark room' to make some precise drawings of Edinburgh Castle and The Royal Mile and then explore how to develop these into works in colour. The day will continue down to The Queen's Gallery with a tour of the current exhibition and further experiments on how lenses and mirrors can inform the accuracy of the drawing process. I'm looking forward to this unique opportunity and hoping I may be able to come to my own conclusions about Vermeer's painting process! To book a place visit
​: https://www.royalcollection.org.uk/event/creative-course-drawing-workshop-art-and-science-of-vermeer

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