(ORDO NEWS) — Scientists conducted an ambitious study in order to determine the most accurate time of day, which Jan Vermeer depicted in his painting.
American astronomers managed to find out the secret of the painting “View of Delft”, which was painted by the Dutch artist Jan Vermeer several centuries ago. For quite a long time, art critics have been trying to find out what time of day the popular artist depicted on his landscape. As it turned out, Vermeer depicted early morning in his painting.
The researchers, together with physics professor Donald Olson and Russell Disher, were able to establish that the painting depicted a landscape in the state in which it was at 8 am local time. Presumably, the artist depicted the morning that he saw on September 3, 1659.
It took a year to study the picture in detail.
For this, maps of Delft were studied, the Google Earth service was used, and topographical surveys of the area were also carried out so that it was possible to establish the angle from which the artist saw this landscape.
Experts are confident that the Dutch artist worked on the second floor of the hotel, which is located in the south-eastern part of Delft.
The exact time was established with the help of the Nieuwe Kerk church, which is still present in the city. In addition, numerous other details were taken into account. Additionally, programs for astronomers were used, which made it possible to determine two intervals a year when the sun occupies exactly this position.
The beginning of April was immediately thrown back, because the picture shows trees with loose leaves. Accordingly, there was only one date left – September 3-4.
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