2.3 Harmony and balance

An overall look

We will demonstrate the principles of harmony and balance by looking at Young Woman in Blue Reading a Letter by Johannes Vermeer, c.1660s. Vermeer’s young woman is caught at the moment of reading a letter in a domestic setting. This may sound like a straightforward description of the picture but it is very important to set out what you can see before starting to analyse it more closely, as we will do now.

Read the relevant section in the Learning to Look at Paintings book if you haven’t already done so.

A closer look

Spend a few seconds looking at the picture.

Look for dark, light and medium tones in the painting, but do this gradually:

• Look for the darkest tones. How many can you see and where are they?
• Look for the lightest tones. How many can you see and where are they?
• Look for the medium tones. How many can you see and where are they?
• How does Vermeer use tone to hold the whole composition together?

Group activity: Camera obscura

The camera obscura has been used to enhance the composition of the painting. Read the explanation of this device in the course book. After that, consider how the use of the camera obscura may have helped with this composition. For instance, how does the cutting off of the composition help with the atmosphere of intimacy and privacy?

Post a paragraph with your reflections in the Camera obscura thread on the Composition forum. Read the impressions of some of the other students and reply to at least one of them.

Record your thoughts in your personal notes.

Individual activity: Camera obscura

Find out more about the camera obscura by making a search using a search engine, like Google.

You may find this web page on the camera obscura a good starting point. More information on the camera obscura can be found on the Essentialvermeer website.

Record your thoughts in your personal notes.