The Sphinx of Delft: Vermeer’s Masterpieces
Johannes Vermeer (1632 – 1675)
Mauritshuis Museum, The Hague
Image in the Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Wednesday 3rd March 2021
Stella Grace Lyons
Johannes Vermeer is today regarded as one of the most important painters in art history. Yet this wasn’t always the case. He was almost entirely forgotten for two centuries after his death, only to be rediscovered in the 1800s.
Vermeer’s works are revered for their rich colours, quality of light and for his ability to imbue everyday scenes with poetry and serenity.
Vermeer is a highly mysterious figure; there is very little historical documentation about him in existence, and fewer than forty works are attributed to him. As a result, he’s earned the nickname ‘the Sphinx of Delft’.
This lecture will explore his masterpieces, including ‘The Girl with the Pearl Earring’.
Stella Grace Lyons is a freelance lecturer in art history. After gaining her BA in the History of Art with a 1st class in her dissertation from the University of Bristol and her MA in History of Art from the University of Warwick, Stella spent a year studying Renaissance art in Italy at the British Institute of Florence, and three months studying Venetian art in Venice.
Stella is also a part-time lecturer for the University of South Wales.
This lecture was streamed online on Wednesday 3rd March 2021 at 11:00am.
Please note that this is a change to our published Programme for copyright and intellectual property reasons. We hope that Stella will present her original lecture on Norwegian art in February 2022.
