Entering the painting visions of Johannes Vermeer, most are scenes of daily life, plots are always simple. The painter seemed having eyes only for women, he was familiar with them, he always happy to show them like their works and their relationships and so on were all presented under the brush of his painter, with the recollections of life.
Among the works of Vermeer which show the scenes of the upper class private life or social works, the characters mostly with gorgeous clothes, exquisite ornaments, the indoor appliances are clean and elegant, the living environment is luxurious and rich. But in the The milkmaid, he depicted the life scenes of a low-class maid according to the facts. Corresponding to this, Vermeer adopted completely different performance techniques from the upper-class. His brushwork was full of vitality, bold and extravagant, the colors-yellow, blue and green, white and red were all full of strength and simplicity. These differences tell us that, the artists always faced different artistic problems, and his artistic style is both systematic and also changing with the drawing objects.
The Milkmaid
In the painting The milkmaid, the sunlight projected in from the left wooden lattice windows to a corner of the kitchen, the robust maid stood near a table with artifacts and food, pouring milk intently. The white milk looked like a ray of oasis, flowing from the container on the maid’s hand to another slowly. The morning sunlight covered all objects in the kitchen with stunning gold, the yellow clothes of the maid shined with charming warm light. Nice, peaceful, comfortable, this is the survival message of the 17th century Dutch people the artist provided to us.
This is a full scene, sill clothing and costumes, delicate jewelry are not compared to this. Just like the lives of the working people, though life is tough but also full of joy. Even if they were in hostile environment, they would not complain about the fate.
This scene is not complicated, the outline is clean and the environment is simple. The painter depicted the kitchen full of emotions, and even can arouse the nostalgia of people and everywhere is full of memorable emotions. The painter discovered poetic through daily life and impressed the audience with simple lyrical style. Let us feel the natural beauty of the primitive without modifications.
Therefore, the working people are the most real and most close to life. Only close to people, the work can touch audience deeply.
