The book recounts that the painter was trained in the use of the darkroom by Jesuit priests, revealing for the first time the influence of the Catholic Church on Vermeer (1632-1675), born a Protestant before converting, the museum said in a statement.
Bringing together 28 paintings, the Rijksmuseum is organizing in February the largest exhibition ever on the painter of the Dutch Golden Age, whose life remains little known, unlike his works such as "The Girl with the Pearl Earring".
His house in Delft, between The Hague and Rotterdam, was next to a Jesuit mission, with a hidden church, where he "very probably came into contact with the Jesuits for the first time in connection with the camera obscura", according to the biography to be published in January written by the head of fine arts at the Rijksmuseum, Gregor Weber.
Used in various forms for thousands of years, the "camera obscura", or darkroom, is an optical instrument involving a dark room or box into which the external image is projected through a small hole or lens.
"Camera-specific lighting effects are also found in Vermeer's paintings, leaving little doubt that the artist was inspired by the device," the museum said.
Rumors have been circulating for years about Vermeer using a darkroom to produce his works, known for their use of light and shadow.
The Jesuits “regarded the camera obscura as a tool for observing the divine light of God,” the museum noted, adding that Weber discovered a drawing by the priest living next door to Vermeer that showed these effects.
The characteristic effect produced by the device, with the center in focus but leaving other areas blurred, is "precisely what Vermeer achieves" in his painting The Lacemaker, exhibited at the Louvre in Paris, he added. .
Catholic worship was banned in the late 16th century by the Dutch Calvinists, but about a third of the population remained loyal to the Vatican.
© 2023 AFP