What Is Your Masterpiece?

Twenty-eight (28) out of Vermeer’s known thirty-four (34) masterpieces were exhibited at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum in 2023.  My sisters & I immediately bought tickets as soon as they went for sale. 

In March 2023, we travelled to Amsterdam and the Rijksmuseum to see Vermeer’s paintings.  Relatives and friends were amazed that we would go all the way to Europe from our home country, the Philippines, to see the works of a European painter.  Some of our relatives & friends didn’t even know who he was. 

As we stepped into the gallery to see the first painting displayed, The Little Street, we knew right there and then it was worth the travel to see the Vermeer’s paintings in person.  No matter how best photographs from the Internet or from any professional cameraman could claim to be, nothing could match the quality of a painting seen with one own’s eyes. 

The rest of Vermeer’s paintings elicited the same reaction.  Many found the exhibition magnificent.

Johannes Vermeer wasn’t wealthy when he passed away in 1675.  It was only in the middle of the 19^th century that a French art critic, Théophile Thoré-Bürger, re-discovered his artworks and re-introduced him to the art world.  Vermeer became even more famous when his painting, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, became the subject of novels and movies at the turn of the 21st century.  Millions of people had gone to see and admire the masterpiece since 1999. 

Johannes Vermeer wasn’t wealthy when he passed away in 1675.  It was only in the middle of the 19^th century that a French art critic, Théophile Thoré-Bürger, re-discovered his artworks and re-introduced him to the art world.  Vermeer became even more famous when his painting, The Girl with the Pearl Earring, became the subject of novels and movies at the turn of the 21st century.  Millions of people had gone to see and admire the masterpiece since 1999. 

But did Vermeer consider his paintings as masterpieces?  Was it his ambition to paint for accomplishments to be appreciated? 

Many artists before and after Vermeer’s time painted for a living.  Johannes Vermeer was no exception.  Despite his fame, there is not much known about him but many who have researched about him believe Vermeer struggled to earn a living for himself and his family. 

Artists from Michelangelo, Da Vinci, and Vermeer painted and contributed their art not out for the sake of fame but for enterprise.  Rich families and a then powerful and wealthy Catholic Church commissioned artists to sculpt and paint for their mansions and cathedrals.  The artists valued the recognition but more so to obtain more work and commissions.  Artists, like any normal people then and now, had to work hard for a living. 

At first, I saw the great works of European artists as inspirations to make masterpieces of my own.  I asked myself, “what would be my masterpiece?”  What would be a crowning achievement in my life, one that would stoke admiration even long after I am gone from this world? 

Many self-help gurus tell us to define goals and work to achieve great things.  But as I delved into the lives of great artists and other famous persons from history, I learned that most, if not all, did not set lofty aims to deliver immortal masterpieces.

Many artists painted or sculpted because they liked, if not loved, to do so.  Vincent Van Gogh, for example, painted because it brought him solace from his personal and health issues.   

Great artists became so because they loved what they do and the work gave them comfort, on top of commercial benefits.  Masterpieces are the results of jobs well done. They are not the ends but the means in pursuing whatever one’s personal goals are. 

Johannes Vermeer likely painted more to bring bread to his family than to make a name for himself via his masterpieces.  The masterpiece he probably wanted was one where he and his family would be economically secure.  He wasn’t totally successful even though his works brought him fame centuries later. 

What is your masterpiece?

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