A masterpiece by 17th Century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer will be the subject of a free lecture Monday at the Timken Museum of Art in Balboa Park.
Amy Walsh, curator of European paintings at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, will discuss “The Interior Life of Vermeer,” the Dutch Golden Age artist whose work was popularized in the 2003 movie “Girl With a Pearl Earring.”
In “Woman in Blue Reading a Letter,” on display through September at the Timken,Vermeer uses composition, light, and color to focus attention on the private thoughts of his subject.
Vermeer’s depiction of a single person turned inward rather than involved in narrative action is characteristic of his paintings, only 36 of which are known. Walsh’s lecture will discuss Vermeer’s approach to his subject in the context of contemporary interests, including the debates about the origin of ideas and the workings of the mind.
“Woman in Blue” is on loan from the prestigious Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The lecture is at 10 a.m. Monday. The Timken is always free to the public. It’s regularly open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Sunday.
