In the decades after the death of the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer in 1675, few knew his name or work. He was so unknown that his paintings were sold with the forged signatures of more popular artists attached. All that changed in the mid-19th century, when his art was reassessed by French critics. Today Vermeer is one of the most admired painters in the world, although, says art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon, he has “proved stubbornly resistant to interpretation”.
Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found, Graham-Dixon’s biography which was six years in the writing, endeavours to answer some unresolved questions, among them: what was Vermeer’s life like? Why did he paint the way he did? What was the intent behind his paintings, of which only 36 exist? Unlike the Dutch genre painters of his time, the Delft-born Vermeer painted solemn yet luminous works featuring women in domestic settings and engaged in activities such as reading, writing, playing music or pouring milk. His ability to render light, and its softening effect on rooms and people, was unparalleled.
Graham-Dixon is the book’s narrator and his reading is sharp, authoritative and animated. As well as conjuring the world Vermeer inhabited and theorising about his relationship with his patrons, the author offers an intriguing new perspective – admittedly one that is impossible to prove – on the identity of the figure in The Girl With the Pearl Earring.
Anyone doubting whether audio is the best medium to explore the life and work of a Dutch master will be pleased to find an attached file with the audiobook containing copious colour plates of Vermeer’s paintings.
Available via Penguin, 15hr 1min
Further listening
Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!
Liza Minnelli, Hodder & Stoughton, 17hr 55min
The Cabaret star reads her uproarious and ferociously candid memoir, in which she reflects on her tumultuous love life, her relationship with her mother, Judy Garland, her struggles with alcohol and drug addiction and professional highs and lows.
Good Good Loving
Yvvette Edwards, Little Brown, 7hr 47min
Sara Powell narrates this family saga about a British-Caribbean family spanning five decades. It opens with Ellen, the elderly matriarch, lying on a hospital bed waiting for the end while her family discuss her many shortcomings.
