Latest news with #JohannesVermeer
The Verge
6 days ago
- The Verge
Turn your AirPods Max into a masterpiece with Casetify's new headphone wrap
Released as part of a new collection of smartphone, tablet, and earbud cases celebrating the Mauritshuis museum collection in The Hague, Netherlands, Casetify's new AirPods Max accessory can turn you into a 360-year-old work of art. Made from a 'silk-like textile,' according to Designboom, the headphone cover's fabric has been finished with a pleated design mimicking the headscarf worn by the unknown subject in Girl with a Pearl Earring painted by Johannes Vermeer in the Dutch Golden Age style in 1665. The cover does serve to protect the outer finish of the AirPods Max's earcups (while unfortunately blocking the headphone's physical controls) but it also features a dangling pearl on one side that makes the wearer look like the painting's famed subject – assuming they're able to recreate her casual over-the-shoulder glance. The accessory is currently listed as sold out on Casetify's online store, which is surprising given it's priced at a steep $199 – almost half the cost of the $549 AirPods Max themselves. Posts from this author will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All by Andrew Liszewski Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Apple Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Gadgets Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Headphones Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All News Posts from this topic will be added to your daily email digest and your homepage feed. See All Tech
New York Times
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Secret Love Letters Remain Sealed in Vermeer Show
As a title for a museum exhibition, 'Vermeer's Love Letters' is a spicy choice. It promises a newly intimate, possibly amorous view of an artist whose life story is filled with question marks. Although Johannes Vermeer was one of the deities of 17th-century Dutch painting, decades of scholarship have failed to unearth even such routine facts as the name of his art teacher (presuming he had one) or the identity of his models. We could be looking at his wife, his daughters, or a good-natured neighbor when we gaze at the women in his paintings, those solitary figures in quiet rooms, making lace or pouring milk into a bowl with rapt concentration. The show brings together just three paintings, which is plenty in Vermeer's case, especially since they share the intriguing subject of a woman who is writing a letter or receiving one, with the help of a servant. At the center of the show is the Frick's own beloved painting, 'Mistress and Maid,' (ca. 1664-67), which has been moved from its usual spot in the grand, green-wallpapered West Gallery into the brand-new Special Exhibition Galleries. There it is joined by two other Vermeer masterworks, one visiting from Dublin, the other from Amsterdam. As its trumpet-blare of a title suggests, Vermeer's 'Love Letters' asks that we view the protagonists of the three paintings as sly correspondents caught up in romance, their maids aware of their feelings and consigned to the role of go-between. But this is a highly speculative and iffy premise. Consider 'Mistress and Maid,' one of Vermeer's larger and more overtly dramatic paintings. A blonde housewife clad in an attractive yellow jacket trimmed in spotted white fur, glances up from her writing table, quill in hand, appearing startled. Her maidservant has entered her room to hand her an envelope — a small but commanding object, a flat, white shape gleaming against a well of shadow. Who is the letter from? Perhaps it's from a cousin in Amsterdam sharing news of his family's ordeal in the bubonic plague of 1665. Or a local merchant informing the woman that her artist-husband has run up a catastrophic debt by splurging on lapis lazuli, the expensive stone that Vermeer used to achieve a radiant blue. Or perhaps the maid has jotted the note herself to announce that she is quitting her job. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
The Star
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
In New York, Vermeer delivers the art of the love letter - sealed with a brush
Vermeer's 'Mistress And Maid' draws a visitor's gaze at The Frick Collection preview in New York, part of a three-painting exhibit exploring the art of seduction through the written word. Photo: AFP In a special exhibit featuring just three paintings, the Frick Collection in New York is inviting viewers to contemplate the age and the art of seduction by the written word. The show brings together a trio of paintings by 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer: the Frick's own Mistress And Maid, The Love Letter on loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and Woman Writing A Letter With Her Maid from the National Gallery of Ireland. They are three of six paintings by Vermeer (1632-1675) that focus on the reading and writing of letters. They also depict interactions between women of different classes. Each painting features a woman and a female servant who has likely become a confidante and an intermediary as her mistress conducts a romantic relationship, said exhibit curator Robert Fucci. "While the contents of the letters in Vermeer's paintings are not made clear, they are most likely amorous," he said. "Courtship and love letters were an important part of the artist's social context and a prevalent artistic theme." In Vermeer's era, women had increasing autonomy in choosing their life partners, Fucci noted. "Servants played a crucial role. Employers entrusted them with delivery, especially when messages needed to be shared covertly," he added. A debt with the baker Vermeer's Love Letters, on view until the end of August, is the first show on offer since the Frick reopened its doors in April following a top-to-bottom, US$330mil (RM1.4bil) renovation. The 20th century mansion filled with paintings, sculptures, and decorative pieces dating from the Renaissance to the 19th century now has 10 new galleries on its second floor, in what used to be the Frick family's private quarters. Two of the Vermeer paintings – worth a fortune today – helped the artist's wife, Catharina Bolnes, settle a debt with a baker after she was widowed with 11 children. The show is the first of the Dutch master's works in New York since 2001. The intimate offering is in sharp contrast to the sprawling Vermeer retrospective at the Rijksmuseum in 2023. Featuring 28 of his 35 known paintings, that was the largest collection of Vermeer's work ever assembled in one place, and drew thousands of art lovers. "Vermeer certainly continues to compel people and to inspire people today," said Aimee Ng, another curator at the Frick. – AFP
Observer
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Observer
In New York, Vermeer show reveals art of the love letter
In a special exhibit featuring just three paintings, the Frick Collection in New York is inviting viewers to contemplate the age and the art of seduction by the written word. The show brings together a trio of paintings by 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer: the Frick's own "Mistress and Maid," "The Love Letter" on loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and "Woman Writing a Letter with her Maid" from the National Gallery of Ireland. They are three of six paintings by Vermeer (1632-1675) that focus on the reading and writing of letters. They also depict interactions between women of different classes. Each painting features a woman and a female servant who has likely become a confidante and an intermediary as her mistress conducts a romantic relationship, said exhibit curator Robert Fucci. "While the contents of the letters in Vermeer's paintings are not made clear, they are most likely amorous," he said. "Courtship and love letters were an important part of the artist's social context and a prevalent artistic theme." In Vermeer's era, women had increasing autonomy in choosing their life partners, Fucci noted. "Servants played a crucial role. Employers entrusted them with delivery, especially when messages needed to be shared covertly," he added. - A debt with the baker - "Vermeer's Love Letters," on view until the end of August, is the first show on offer since the Frick reopened its doors in April following a top-to-bottom, $330-million renovation. The 20th century mansion filled with paintings, sculptures, and decorative pieces dating from the Renaissance to the 19th century now has 10 new galleries on its second floor, in what used to be the Frick family's private quarters. Two of the Vermeer paintings -- worth a fortune today -- helped the artist's wife, Catharina Bolnes, settle a debt with a baker after she was widowed with 11 children. The show is the first of the Dutch master's works in New York since 2001. The intimate offering is in sharp contrast to the sprawling Vermeer retrospective at the Rijksmuseum in 2023. Featuring 28 of his 35 known paintings, that was the largest collection of Vermeer's work ever assembled in one place, and drew thousands of art lovers. "Vermeer certainly continues to compel people and to inspire people today," said Aimee Ng, another curator at the Frick. —AFP
eNCA
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- eNCA
In New York, Vermeer show reveals art of the love letter
NEW YORK - In a special exhibit featuring just three paintings, the Frick Collection in New York is inviting viewers to contemplate the age and the art of seduction by the written word. The show brings together a trio of paintings by 17th century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer: the Frick's own "Mistress and Maid," "The Love Letter" on loan from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, and "Woman Writing a Letter with her Maid" from the National Gallery of Ireland. They are three of six paintings by Vermeer (1632-1675) that focus on the reading and writing of letters. They also depict interactions between women of different classes. Each painting features a woman and a female servant who has likely become a confidante and an intermediary as her mistress conducts a romantic relationship, said exhibit curator Robert Fucci. "While the contents of the letters in Vermeer's paintings are not made clear, they are most likely amorous," he said. "Courtship and love letters were an important part of the artist's social context and a prevalent artistic theme." In Vermeer's era, women had increasing autonomy in choosing their life partners, Fucci noted. "Servants played a crucial role. Employers entrusted them with delivery, especially when messages needed to be shared covertly," he added. "Vermeer's Love Letters," on view until the end of August, is the first show on offer since the Frick reopened its doors in April following a top-to-bottom, $330-million renovation.
