I read the book and saw the movie twice. I just don't believe the master loved her. I think he found her attractive and found her to be a good help in his work because she "got it". Other than that I saw no love or really any strong feelings on his part.
shareI'm with you on this one.
I don't think he loves anyone, really. I think he just loves painting. Once he was done with the painting, he didn't need Griet, and that's why he allowed his wife to throw her out. If he hadn't been done with it, I think he would have refused to let his wife fire her, like he did when Griet was accused of theft.
[deleted]
[deleted]
"(though I must admit I wasn't a fan of Colin Firth as Vermeer-blasphemy, I know)."-jssc-crg
Who would you choose to play Vermeer? I agree, after reading the book, Colin Firth just did not "fit", though I do like his acting.
I have to say, I was a bit uneasy with Firth as Vermeer the first time I saw the film way back when. The more I watch it lately, the more I think Firth is more than adequate as the brooding Vermeer. It helps to set aside impressions one has of Firth in other very different roles.
Regarding the OP's point, of course Vermeer doesn't love Griet, although he is taken with her beauty and her understanding of his painting. She is his muse. That sounds simplistic, but that's what it boils down to. Some interpret this differently, included a few of the most well known film critics. Their impression is that the crux of the story is about a love affair between muse and artist that can never be consumated for several obvious reasons. I disagree with this interpretation.
This raises a question I've had about the book and film. I haven't read the book in so long, I don't remember whether this issue was addressed. Was Griet "hand picked" (because of her stunning beauty) to be a maid in the Vermeeer household with the idea that she may become a muse to the painter? Someone as powerful and manipulative as Vermeer's mother-in-law could have arranged this.
In the movie, Vermeer didn't have an apprentice. In reality, Vermeer would have; it would have likely been essential. So maybe he was grooming Griet as an apprentice.
If there had been an apprentice in the film, I don't know that the plot would have worked the same way.
BTW, the point was made that he "loved art". I think that says it all.
````````````
Imagine that.
Agreed on the last point.
Given her gender and social standing, it seems very unlikely that she was to be his apprentice, this assuming an apprentice is more than a helper, but a future artist in training.
Do you have an opinion as to whether or not Griet was "hand-picked" by the manipulative mother-in law to be a maid and eventual muse for Vermeer? I can't remember this part from the book.
"For dark is the suede that mows like a harvest"
In the book the Vermeer family isn't doing that well financially. There was pressure to paint and sell paintings and each painting didn't make that much money. There were constantly more mouths to feed. Vermeer might not have been able to afford an apprentice at that point. Griet was convenient, cheap labor. For the price of a maid he had an assistant and model as well. Vermeer as well as the women in the household exploited her to the max without a twinge of conscience.
As Griet realizes towards the end, as soon as Vermeer finishes the painting she has been a disruption in the household and he has no more use for her. She in return picks the best of her limited options. Griet becoming an apprentice isn't even considered by Vermeer. On the other hand he shows his appreciation later. Maybe he loved his painting and whaddayaknow made good on her contribution.
This may strike most people here as odd. When I saw this film ten years ago during it's theatrical release, I remember being struck by the truly feminine beauty and pulchritude of the Taneke character plated by Ms. Scanlon. Having seen her in a number of BBC productions since (mainly comedies), I think that she's still incredibly sexy. I think that she's over 50 years old now and I'd still jump in a heartbeat if I had half a chance.
shareVermeer wasn't in love with Griet, that was the whole point of the film. It is fairly obvious.
He was taken by her and how easily she "got it". She was his inspiration.
There clearly was some attraction between them, but not love.
The film is ambivalent at this point. He clearly is having relationship with his wife as she is always pregnant but Firth also seems to be enchanted by her butthe performance by him is too brooding.
Its that man again!!
Griet and Vermeer share a love of art. She even moves a chair he has posed for one of his paintings and he concedes that it's an improvement. He lets her grind his colors, a task that a master painter would never give to a maid.
In the movie they appear to be no more than kindred spirits, but in the book Griet learns that when Vermeer was in the throes of his final illness, he asked van Ruijven's daughter (van Ruijven himself was dead by then) to loan him her portrait. Apparently he did carry a torch for her until his last breath.