3rdofmay:

The art: Johannes Vermeer, Officer and Laughing Girl, c.1657.

The news: “Love Longitude? ‘Maphead’ Locates Geography Buffs,” on NPR’s Fresh Air. Former ‘Jeopardy!’ champ Ken Jennings has written a new book about maps. He was on Fresh Air yesterday.

The source: Collection of The Frick Collection, New York.

Nota bene: From Vermeer to Jasper Johns, artists have long used maps to tell us something about our world. Vermeer may have used maps in many of his paintings to suggest that the characters in his paintings were naval officers on a courtship visit or that the women in the paintings were writing to or pining for men in the navy. Then again, Vermeer may have used them for other reasons altogether — art historians have been debating this topic for years.

I think I’m in love.

  1. espressorevolution reblogged this from 3rdofmay
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  4. mitologiasvivas reblogged this from scribnerbooks and added:
    The art: Johannes Vermeer, Officer and Laughing Girl, c.1657.
  5. daretobee reblogged this from nprfreshair
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  7. bethannholdridge reblogged this from nprfreshair and added:
    Vermeer was my first love.
  8. scribnerbooks reblogged this from nprfreshair and added:
    Vermeer loved his maps! Ken could have used several paintings, including this one:
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