Vermeer and the hieroglyphs

John Bjarne Grover

It is not likely that Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) knew about the egyptian hieroglyphs in any interesting way - but it seems that the hieroglyphs can be seen as an essential aspect of his work nevertheless. My study has shown that the glyphs can be attested in the white philosopher's stone and when the white stone can be seen as a materialization of the form of the human psyche, that is why the hieroglyphs can be predicted in Vermeer - because he paints the human psyche with high degree of necessity.

I could test my hypothesis with this - predicting that if the hypothesis made sense, then this particular glyph would be in that particular Vermeer. And the predictions were confirmed with the evidence. The following could be predicted - either directly (linearily) or via the 'Nono' factor - and that should suffice more than enough as evidence. References are to this source and to this. (The URLs to the artworks were not on the web and I have now - 2023 - restored them but do not have the original source present - hopefully I have not mixed up some of them):

Hieroglyph	Vermeer work
1. egyptian vulture = 𓄿	9. Young woman interrupted at music
2. flowering reed = 𓇋	12. A view of Delft
3. 2 reed flowers, 2 obl strokes \\ = 𓇌	14. Woman with a lute
4. forearm = 𓂝	17. Woman in blue reading a letter
5. quail chick = 𓅱	20. A lady writing
6. foot = 𓃀	22. Girl with a pearl earring
7. stool = 𓊪	25. Girl with a flute
8. horned viper = 𓆑	8. The astronomer
9. owl = 𓅓	30. The love letter
10. water = 𓈖	35. The guitar player
11. mouth = 𓂋	24. Girl with a red hat
12. reed shelter in fields = 𓉔	26. The art of painting
13. wick of twisted flax = 𓎛	29. The lacemaker
14. placenta = 𓐍	32. Allegory of the catholic faith
15. animal belly with teats = 𓄡	34. Young woman seated at a virginal
16. bolt, folded cloth = 𓋴	2. Christ in the house of Mary and Martha
17. pool = 𓈙, 𓈛	5. The letter reader (Young woman reading a letter)
18. hill-slope = 𓈎	7. The milkmaid
19. basket with handle = 𓎡	10. Young woman with a wine glass
20. stand for jar = 𓎼	13. Young woman with a water pitcher
21. loaf = 𓏏	15. The music lesson (A woman at a virginal with a gentleman)
22. tethering rope = 𓍿	1. Diana and her companions
23. hand = 𓂧	4. A maid asleep
24. snake = 𓆓	6. Cavalier and young woman

(The enumeration of the hieroglyphs follows Gardiner's 'Egyptian grammar', Griffith Institute, Oxford 2012, wherefrom I have also quoted the graphic forms, and the enumeration of Vermeer's work follows Liedtke's 'Vermeer - the complete paintings', Ludion 2011).

The most impressive one from the viewpoint of my analysis of the hieroglyphs relative to the white stone is the tethering rope in 'Diana and her companions': That is the proof that Vermeer has reached the hieroglyphs via the form of the human psyche in the white stone.

One otherwise searches rather fruitlessly in the artwork for this hieroglyphic form.

Given the obvious 'horned viper' in the astronomer, one easily spots the 'snake' in the geographer - when it is given in the cavalier. It is about looking out the window, as usual with Vermeer.

There is a hand in 'A maid asleep' (the table cloth and the metaphysical object at the pitcher) - but one could perhaps see also the reed shelter in fields? I would suppose, though, that 'A maid asleep' mainly is about the 'hand' since that is both horizontal and 45 degrees in my interpretation relative to the white stone - and that is what the table cloth is in Vermeer's work: It folds up mystically in 45 degrees (like her sleep) and produces a sleepy metaphysical glass-like object of mystic character next to the pitcher.

© John Bjarne Grover
On the web 5 april 2018
Last updated 21 february 2023