The Procuress (Vermeer) in the context of "The Art of Painting"

⭐ In the context of *The Art of Painting*, *The Procuress* is significant because it shares a characteristic with Vermeer’s later, more complex work regarding…

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⭐ Core Definition: The Procuress (Vermeer)

The Procuress (Dutch: De koppelaarster) is a 1656 oil-on-canvas painting by the then 24-year-old Johannes Vermeer. It can be seen in the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden. It is his first genre painting and shows a scene of contemporary life, an image of mercenary love perhaps in a brothel. It differs from his earlier biblical and mythological scenes. It is one of only three paintings Vermeer signed and dated (the other two are The Astronomer and The Geographer). In 1696 the painting, being sold on an auction in Amsterdam, was named "A merry company in a room".

The woman in black, the leering coupler, "in a nun's costume", could be the eponymous procuress, while the man to her right, "wearing a black beret and a doublet with slashed sleeves", has been identified as a self portrait of the artist; there is a resemblance with the painter in Vermeer's The Art of Painting.

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👉 The Procuress (Vermeer) in the context of The Art of Painting

The Art of Painting, also known as The Allegory of Painting (Dutch: Allegorie op de schilderkunst), or Painter in his Studio, is a 17th-century oil on canvas painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. It is owned by the Austrian Republic and is on display in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.

Many art historians think that it is an allegory of painting, hence the alternative title of the painting. Its composition and iconography make it the most complex Vermeer work of all. After Vermeer's Christ in the House of Martha and Mary and The Procuress it is his largest work.

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The Procuress (Vermeer) in the context of Procuring (prostitution)

Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, often called a pimp if male, or a madam if female, (though the term "pimp" is often used for female procurers as well) or a brothel keeper, is an agent for prostitutes who collects part of their earnings. The procurer may receive this money in return for advertising services, physical protection, or for providing and possibly monopolizing a location where the prostitute may solicit clients. Like prostitution, the legality of certain actions of a madam or a pimp vary from one region to the next.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← The Art of Painting ← Procuring (prostitution) ← The Art of Painting (Vermeer)
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Johannes Vermeer → Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister → Dresden → Genre painting → Brothel → The Astronomer (painting) → The Geographer → Procuring (prostitution) → Doublet (clothing) → Self portrait → The Art of Painting →