As a great admirer of Johannes Vermeer’s work, I have tried to create a scene such as he and his contemporaries in the 17th century might have painted but with links to the 21st century. The house is typically Dutch in character and lighting. Like some other Dutch paintings of the period, I have used a bunch of keys to indicate the key to understanding the picture. The laurel wreath near the keys is associated with Clio (the Muse for History in Greek mythology) who is shown being painted by Vermeer in his painting on the wall. (You can tell it is Clio because she is carrying a large book and by the clues left on the books on the floor in the foreground of the main painting). I show Vermeer from the rear as he painted himself in “The Art of Painting”. Although Vermeer is painting Clio, he is actually looking at a young 21st century girl in a white dress (which is also shown hanging on the wall to the left of my painting). To the left of the painting on the wall is a modern abstract picture with the same colours and design (in abstract) as seen in the painting to the right. Below it is the pair of white shoes that the girl wears in the picture. To link the 21st and 17th century I have added brushes in a pot – denoting art is the link.
Peter Newell's art 