Absence, Ambiguity, and The Representation of Creativity in Vermeer’s the Art of Painting

Abstract

This paper examines The Art of Painting, by Johannes Vermeer, to demonstrate how a great artist portrays the realm of imagination and creativity. The crucial points of entry for psychoanalysis reside in two sets of details in the painting that have generally been neglected by art historians: first, the contrast between the realistic rendering of certain parts of the work and the fuzzy, ambiguous nature of other elements; and second, the pervasiveness of the theme of absence in the manifest content. The author refers to some of Winnicott’s and Lacan’s concepts, particularly the connection between absence and desire as a spur to creativity.