Cempaka Belanda: Early clumsy Vermeers show hints of brilliance

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) - (Text version)

"The Timing of the Great Shift" – Mar 21, 2009 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Text version)

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.
They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."

"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: The Humanization of God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.)

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …”

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Early clumsy Vermeers show hints of brilliance

NRC International, By Lucette ter Borg, 20 May 2010 15:50

The Procuress (1656) is on loan from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, in Dresden. Courtesy of the Mauritshuis

An exhibition of only three paintings shows Vermeer's genius as well as his foul-ups.

Johannes Vermeer was not the only 17th-century painter who depicted the biblical story of Christ visiting the house of Martha and Mary. Many paintings of those days show what seems to be an orgy in its early stages, with oxen being lead out and partridges, guinea fowl, peacocks and rabbits hang from the ceiling like drapes. There are baskets, cupboards, dishes stuffed with artichokes, asparagus, oranges, peaches and other fruits. Painters proved their mastery by going all out on the food. The people central to the story were a nothing more than an excuse.

It is important to know this contemporary context when looking at the early work of Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) that is now on display in the Mauritshuis in The Hague, which already has Vermeer's View of Delft and the Girl with a Pearl Earing on permanent display. His 1654/1655 Christ in the House of Martha and Mary is one of three paintings in a special exhibition of the Dutch painter's earlier work. Unlike his colleagues, Vermeer painted the scene as if it were a sober still life. Not the food Martha may have served is its main subject matter, but the trinity of Christ, Mary and Martha, the light, the textures of linnen, bread and skin. He painted an almost translucent white head scarf, a shadowy face that stands out against a loose table cloth, a glance. This early work consists of elements of contemplation and serenity that are quintessential to Vermeer's later work, which no longer depicted biblical tales, but focused on introvert portraits and atmospheric cityscapes, such as the View of Delft, dated circa 1660.

Vermeer wanted to be famous

The Mauritshuis already owned one of the early Vermeer's and got the other on loan from Edinburgh and Dresden. They were all made soon after Vermeer registered with the Delft master painters' guild, at age 21, and have never been on display together before. Two have been very elegantly restored, with colours so bright one can't keep their eyes off them. But all three are odd. Not just because their canvasses are much larger than those Vermeer used later in his career, but also because of their subjects and his occasionally clumsy way of painting.

This stands out most in the earliest piece: Diana and her Nymphs (1653/1654), which is part of the Mauritshuis’ collection. It is the only known Vermeer depicting a mythological scene. Presumably, the young artist wanted to show his skill in a so-called history piece. In the 17th century, history painting was held in greater esteem than still life painting and Vermeer wanted to be famous. He dipped his brush in yellow ochre, violet, blue, brown and green with great enthusiasm, but fouled up more than once. It is touching to see what a difficult time he had painting breasts, backs and hands. Diana's breasts seem to be growing from her collarbones, the rock on which she and her company rest looks more like a laundry basket, curator Edwin Buijsen wrote in the catalogue, than a rock. Yet there are fragments of the later Vermeer, in the light reflected by a bowl of water, the sheen of a jacket.

Out of reach

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, on loan from the National Gallery of Scotland, also has some anatomical flaws, but here 'Vermeer's peace' has already descended. It is a fantastic prelude to the third canvas, The Procuress, from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, in Dresden

This work, dated 1656, shows a cheerful brothel scene. A young woman's breast is fondled, there is wine, music, a coin passes from one hand to the next. But not even all that human activity can hide what Vermeer really wants to show: the light yellow of the prostitute's dress - so sweet and soft she might as well be a girl in one of his later paintings, a woman reading a letter or a milkmaid. The fur coat in the foreground of the composition, painted so lifelike you almost want to reach out to stroke it. The amazing use of colour and the sheen of porcelain, silver and wine.

Everything in The Procuress is dreamy and quiet, despite the smiles on people's faces. The event is there, up for grabs in all its brilliance. But as a viewer, you are on the other side, amongst the other visitors in a museum. It is out of reach; the distance will never be bridged. No more in this early masterpiece than in his later ones.

The Young Vermeer exposition can been seen at the Mauritshuis in The Hague until August 22. More information: www.mauritshuis.nl