37 pages • 1 hour read
Timothy BrookVermeer's Hat
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2005A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Summary
Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Key Figures
Themes
Symbols & Motifs
Important Quotes
Essay Topics
Tools
BetaSymbols & Motifs
Windows
Vermeer uses open windows in several of his paintings to heighten the effects of light; he is famous for his use of light. These windows are open at different angles depending on the mood of the painting and what Vermeer is trying to convey. Interestingly, the world beyond the window is never seen in Vermeer’s paintings. With Brook’s book, the reader comes to understand that Vermeer is adept at providing information on the larger world despite there being no glimpse of it from the windows. In Young Woman Reading a Letter at an Open Window, Vermeer conveys the tension on the young woman’s face and connects it to the open window. Presumably, her lover is somewhere out in the world that cannot be seen. Though they are far apart, the open window shows that they are still connected. Vermeer’s open windows invite connection to the wider world.
Delft
Vermeer was born in Delft and spent his life in the city. Ironically, none of his work can be seen in Delft. Brook makes note of the fact that, though Vermeer’s work cannot be seen in Delft, Delft can be seen in Vermeer’s work. Art historians generally agree that Vermeer’s famous use of light might have come from the way light fell on buildings in Delft. Moreover, for a man who never left his hometown, Vermeer could convey the wide world just as effectively as he did people from his hometown. Delft served as inspiration for Vermeer, and as a totem for Brook when he began his studies on Vermeer.
Art
Brook implores the reader to view art as a puzzle. As such, art is a symbol and motif throughout the book. Art as a puzzle means that there are clues to unravel and roads to explore once the clues are unraveled. This practice of looking at art as a puzzle, one rife with clues and cultural context, can be glimpsed on a wider scale within Brook’s narrative. Encountering art or cultural artifacts from other cultures, people were often puzzled by the new cultural markers. Often, the art from another culture became a desired commodity as seen by the Chinese porcelain in Vermeer’s Hat. Although Chinese collectors were less interested in acquiring European art, the curiosity was still there. Art can be viewed as a means of communication, constantly bringing different cultures together.
Shipwrecks
Brook notes that the 17th century was wrought with shipwrecks. Though shipwrecks in themselves are indeed tragic, especially when the loss of life is considered, shipwrecks also allowed for a better understanding of what was being traded in the 17th century. Moreover, shipwrecks often placed diverse groups of people in other lands, thus furthering the movement of people. Shipwrecks were also important in that, depending on what the ship was carrying, disasters such as the loss of cargo from a shipwreck could ruin businesses or entire economies. Shipwrecks, then, were symbolic of globalization’s instability in the 17th century. Though people and places were becoming even more connected, one shipwreck could decimate fortunes on both a large and small scale.
