Our
mission Our
mission Short answer: Because it needed to be done. Amoris causa.
Long answer: By presenting this web site on the Digital Johannes Vermeer Home the creators of this site, art historian drs. Kees Kaldenbach and engineer and industrial designer Allan Kuiper have worked towards specific goals.
However, first we will explain where we came from.
(Picture on top shows "amoris causa" from the outside of the Samuel van Hoogstraten peep box in the National gallery, London, circa 1655-1660)
As if struck by lightning Kees Kaldenbach stood in the Vienna Fine Arts Museum ('Kunsthistorisches Museum') in front of "The Art of Painting with its painted chandelier. That very same year 1975 an excellent book by Albert Blankert appeared, containing all known Vermeer paintings and many documents on his life. Later on Kaldenbach studied art history. In a digital way he wants to thank Johannes Vermeer with this site for all of the visual pleasure he has offered within his paintings.
Around 1996 industrial designer Allan Kuiper developed and produced a CDrom on Delft, containing a 3D flight over the water towards the town gates which were depicted by Johannes Vermeer in View of Delft.
Via e-mail and the Internet Kaldenbach and Kuiper found each other, exchanged information on each others' unique projects and started a collaboration. The creative plan actually grew under their hands.
We knew that by working hard a Digital Vermeer House could be created. We wished to do it on our own, without outside financial help, with a zero dollar/euro budget. We wished to find out along the way what methods are possible in creating a Digital Vermeer House in a professional and thoughtful way, presenting it for free on the Internet. We could not aspire to a Hollywood type of visual 3D rendering as we were limited both in time and money.
In creating the site we needed expert help from many fields; so we contacted professionals who have assisted us freely within our zero Euro budget: Henk Zantkuijl for architecture, Marieke de Winkel for textiles and dress, and many others who have assisted us in practical way during the last two years. Last but not least we thank the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum, which offered abundant facilities for research and which donated all online image material.
We worked on this project for creative fun, but there also is an element of professional pride involved: "Yes I can".
Go to the full Menu of art history tours.
This project has been presented by Kaldenbach in the BBC-documentary-cum-detective on the life and work of Johannes Vermeer, aired on BBC 2, March 29, 2003.
Several Japanese TV networks and stations have shown an active interest.
Radio West
BRT Radio 1
Radio Netherlands World Service has focused on Delft and Vermeer in a radio broadcast interview with Anthony Bailey, Philip Steadman and Kees Kaldenbach, recorded in 2004. After the broadcast date the programme is available in MP3 format on this web site.
Over a dozen national and regional newspapers in The Netherlands reported on this site between Dec. 30 2002 to January 17, 2003.
These are the other magazines and newspapers which printed editorial material:
American Artist (USA)
Art Magazin (Germany)
Atlantis (Portugal) March-April 2003, page 40
Connaissance des Arts (France) January 2003, page 122.
Delf Cultuurhistorisch Magazine (The Netherlands) 2002 - nr 4, p. 10.
Delftsche Courant (Newspaper, The Netherlands, issued two full pages in December 2002 and January 2003)
Historians of Netherlandish Art - News (Print and Internet versions)
Holland Herald / KLM (May 2003, p. 43)
Informatie Professional & IP Online (The Netherlands)
Kunstwereld (The Netherlands)
Leonardo Journal of the International Society for the Arts, Sciences and Technology (International) February 2003
Luister (The Netherlands)
Mauritshuis in Focus (The Netherlands) Vol. 15 no 3, Dec. 2002, pp. 6-7.
MuseumVisie (The Netherlands, Vol. 2002-3 p. 10 and Vol. 2003-1)
Muziek & Onderwijs (The Netherlands) Vol 1, 2003, p. 24.
Natuur & Techniek Wetenschapsmagazine [science] (The Netherlands)
NRC Handelsblad (Newspaper, The Netherlands) January 18, 2003, page 10.
Poppenhuizen & Miniaturen (The Netherlands) Nr 62, Dec. 2002, pp 15-16.
Recreatie & Toerisme (The Netherlands)
Spiegel Historiael [history magazine], The Netherlands, vol. 38, nr. 1, January 2003, p. 46.
Standaard (Belgium), 21 January 2003.
Trouw (The Netherlands), January 16, 2003.
Washington Post (USA)
Weltkunst (Germany) February, 2003.
The Vermeer house floor plan and elevation has been published in Japan in a book on Vermeer. The title is 'Guessing a riddle, Vermeer' by the author Yoriko Kobayashi (she used to be a student of Dr. Blankert). The publisher is Shincyo-sha, 2003.
Numerous referrals ; see www.Google.com !
Thanks:
The
january 17, 2003 Grand Opening Ceremony has been kindly supported by
art dealer Johnny van Haeften Ltd, London, and the Delftsche Courant
newspaper.
This page forms part of a large encyclopedic site on Delft. Research by Drs. Kees Kaldenbach (email). A full presentation is on view at johannesvermeer.info.
Launched December, 2002; Last update March 1, 2017.
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