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Analysis Of The Book ' Vermeer 's Hat '

Decent Essays

Johannes Vermeer was a seventeenth century painter residing in Delft, Amsterdam, in a time which Timothy Brook considers the dawn of the global world . Recognizable for his painting Girl with a Pearl Earring, Vermeer is the subject of Brooks book Vermeer’s Hat, in which Brook explains that the beginnings of globalization can be traced back to the seventeenth century and that evidence for his thesis can be found in Vermeer’s paintings . Brook focuses on five Vermeer paintings, a decorative plate, and a painting by a man in a very similar situation to Vermeer, as mediums through which Vermeer and others displayed the world around them through their art and what they chose to paint. As an expert in Chinese history, it is understandable that Brook would recognize the unique contributions China had to the trade revolution, which he illustrates through examples of China’s connection to North American prosperity, its involvement in certain goods, and the outward allure of China to foreigners looking for their next adventure. Vermeer’s painting Officer and Laughing Girl provides evidence for the involvement of North America in seventeenth century trade through the hat worn by the courting officer. In the very beginning of the century, Canada had opened up as a new source for the beaver pelts used to make the very best hats. The extreme demand for “beavers”, as the hats were then known, was so grand that prices skyrocketed, splitting society into those who could afford the hats, and

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