Johannes Vermeer: The Milkmaid (c. 1657-8)

Johannes Vermeer, The Milkmaid, oil on canvas, Painted c. 1657–1658, On view at Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands, Image Source: wikimedia

“Bach based his chorale Christum wir sollen loben schon – part of his cantata of the same name, BWV 121 – on a hymn by Martin Luther from 1524. This was in turn based on the Latin hymn A solis ortus cardine, by Caelius Sedulius from ca 450. For this recording soprano Viola Blache made a personal version, based on Bach, Luther and the original hymn. The decor is Vermeer’s Milkmaid who steps out of her frame after an age-long lockdown and seems almost to be singing to herself. The chorale text refers loosely to the painting. Recorded for the project All of Bach on 1 October 2020 at De Hallen Studio’s, Amsterdam (video production) and on 4 June 2021 at Philarmonie, Haarlem (music production). If you want to help us complete All of Bach, please subscribe to our channel https://bit.ly/2vhCeFB and consider donating https://bit.ly/3J5uprM.”

Netherlands Bach Society

Learn More

The Milkmaid at wikiwand

Vermeer’s Masterpiece: The Milkmaid at The Metropolitan Museum of Art – 2009 Vermeer exhibition

Johannes Vermeer at wikiwand

Thanks for Visiting 🙂

~Sunnyside

11 Comments Add yours

  1. penwithlit says:

    Reblogged this on penwithlit and commented:
    Just found the lovely German text at https://hymnary.org/text/christum_wir_sollen_loben_schon

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Wow. My favorite painter and composer.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Who could not love a Vermeer?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Agree! How sad that so few of Vermeer’s paintings survived. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Vivienne. 🙂

      Like

  4. Michele Lee says:

    Interesting art history. 🎨

    Liked by 1 person

  5. Thank you for this rich enlightenment on “The Milkmaid” and Vermeer. I appreciate your thoughts and links.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. My pleasure, Rusty. I am happy you enjoyed this. Thanks for your kind words. 🙂

      Like

  6. gialloesse says:

    A rischio di sembrare fuori di testa devo in assoluta sincerità dichiarare che non amo Vermeer. Disapprovo l’uso eccessivo che faceva della “camera obscura”, cosa perfettamente percettibile da chiunque si intenda anche un poco di di immagini riprodotte e di un poco di geometria. Nei suoi quadri le mutue grandezze sono fuori proporzione tra di esse ed anche in relazione alla distanza prospettica; caratteristiche più che evidenti nella proiezione. Insomma, per sconosciute ragioni non riproduceva dal vero, non dipingeva a memoria e non inventava.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. google translate: At the risk of sounding out of my mind I must in all sincerity declare that I do not love Vermeer. I disapprove of the excessive use he made of the “camera obscura”, something perfectly perceptible by anyone who understands even a little of reproduced images and a little geometry. In his paintings the mutual sizes are out of proportion to each other and also in relation to the perspective distance; characteristics more than evident in the projection. In short, for unknown reasons he didn’t reproduce from life, he didn’t paint from memory and he didn’t invent. Response: Thanks for sharing your thoughts, gialloesse. 🙂🌺

      Like

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