The New Vermeer: The Art of Copying

Emulation is an art form in its own right; learning to copy old master paintings in an attempt to achieve an accurate likeness to the original is an important skill to develop as an artist. The new Dutch reality television series The New Vermeer explores this art form in depth by hosting a competition to recreate the lost paintings of 17th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer.

Johannes Vermeer is most known for his work Girl with a Pearl Earring c. 1665, and his genre paintings, usually depicting his subjects in interior scenes completing chores.

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Airing six episodes for the six lost paintings of Vermeer, this series pits two professional artists against each other to re-create or reinvent the same work. Over four months, the contestants are tasked with recreating the work of the Dutch master as accurately as possible based on Vermeer originals that are only known from brief written descriptions from inventories or auction records from around the time of his death in 1675. Contemporary artists are tasked with capturing the spirit of Vermeer’s work in their own innovative styles, being judged on the contestant's use of form, color, and composition.

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The artists can consult experts and curators who coach them on Vermeer's style and technique, as well as historically accurate materials, and the winning Vermeer recreations and reinventions will be displayed at the Mauritshuis and the Museum Prinsenhof in Delft, Vermeer’s hometown.

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The show's launch coincided with the opening of an exhibit at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum that features 28 Vermeers — the largest collection of the artists' work ever shown. The television series and Rijksmuseum exhibit reflect a growing interest in recreating masters as an art form. 

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Repetition has been considered the best way of learning since the medieval period, and the museum has started a program to promote this emulation and repetition by hosting drawing tours throughout the museum. Their tagline "you see more when you draw” opens up the possibility to see things in art that you did not notice before, while also gaining the ability to understand art through learning the artist's techniques, which increases one’s ability to build range in their work.

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To view the exhibit in the Rijksmuseum: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/johannes-vermeer?ss=

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To learn more about The New Vermeer: https://www.maxvandaag.nl/programmas/tv/de-nieuwe-vermeer/