10 Beautiful Johannes Vermeer Art Projects for Kids
Learn about Johannes Vermeer, one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age, with some gorgeous Johannes Vermeer art projects for kids!
What kind of paints do you use to create art? We generally use watercolor, tempera, acrylic and sometimes gouache.
But those are the common options – have you ever used paint made from gemstones?
Yes, it’s been done! Look at this painting for example:
It’s a portrait of a pretty girl, wearing a blue turban and a large pearl earring. The pigments on this painting include ultramarine, a very expensive pigment made by crushing lapis lazuli, a gemstone.
I’m sure you’re now wondering who created this gorgeous piece of art. It is called ‘Girl with the Pearl Earring‘, and was painted by Johannes Vermeer. Vermeer was a Dutch artist who lived in the 17th century, and who is considered one of the greatest artists of the Dutch Golden Age.
Vermeer lived a mostly quiet life and didn’t take a lot of notes, due to which there aren’t many written records about his life. As a result, very little is known about him, except information about his baptism, marriage and death, gleaned from public records.
The only way to know the artist is through his work – and there’s not a lot of it. He created less than 50 paintings, of which only 34 exist today. Since 31st October is his birthday, we decided to learn what we could about the prolific artist, through some Johannes Vermeer art projects for kids.
10 Johannes Vermeer Art Projects for Kids
1. Girl with the Pearl Earring Drawing Tutorial
After Da Vinci‘s Mona Lisa, the most famous portrait in the world has got to be Vermeer’s ‘Girl with the Pearl Earring’. It is often called the ‘Dutch Mona Lisa’, and for good reason! Besides being painted in Europe, both portraits feature women with mysterious origins and with enigmatic expressions. Art Projects for Kids shows us how we can draw our own version of the famous Girl.
2. Vermeer Artist Study
If you observe his work, you’ll find that Vermeer’s paintings mostly feature women in domestic scenes of daily life. Many decor items and furniture pieces appear in multiple paintings, and that makes it easy to identify Vermeer’s work even though he didn’t sign all of them. Jimmie’s Collage goes into detail in this art lesson, encouraging us to find all the little details hidden in Vermeer’s paintings.
3. Mixed Media Vermeer Art Project
Johannes Vermeer used light very creatively in his paintings. It is believed that he used the ‘camera obscura’ to study his subjects, which gave him more insight on what and how to paint. Susan Evans brings us a few Johannes Vermeer art projects that celebrate his use of light.
4. Vermeer Lesson on Perspective
Vermeer was truly the master of perspective, creating an illusion of a three-dimensional space on a flat surface. This was done through lines and angles of walls and furniture, which made you feel like you were looking into a real life room. Liberty Hill House takes us through an interesting project that illustrates this principle.
5. Anna and Johanna: A Children’s Book Inspired by Jan Vermeer
Two girls from entirely different backgrounds meet one day and become friends. Then something happens, that changes their lives forever. This is the lovely story of this book written by
6. Perler Bead Vermeer Miniature Painting
When you want to paint something today, there are so many shades to choose from – we’re really spoilt for choice! However, things were different during Vermeer’s time – he used only about 20 pigments in his work. It was quite a task to find the right shade since some pigments wouldn’t mix. Well, you don’t need any paint to create these miniature masterpieces from WyTenTeguj – just perler beads!
7. Wrapping Paper Collage Art Project
Art History Kids has an interesting addition to this list of Johannes Vermeer art projects – a wrapping paper collage! This is a great recycling project to use bits and pieces of wrapping paper to create a simple version of Vermeer’s famous masterpiece!
8. Johannes Vermeer Art Study
One of the reasons ‘Girl in the Pearl Earring’ has captivated people across generations is because of her expression. She’s turning her head over her shoulder, looking straight ahead as if she is just about to say something. Try creating that same effect with these art pieces from Chalk Pastel.
9. Johannes Vermeer Printable Poster
Lotta Magazine has a set of printable artist posters that are great for anyone who loves learning about famous artists and their work! This set includes Johannes Vermeer, of course, along with Mary Blair, Walt Disney, Wayne Thiebaud, Dale Chihuly and Edouard Manet.
10. Johannes Vermeer Art Sandwich
This fun project from Bored Panda shows us that you can create art from just about anything – even things lying in your kitchen!
We hope you enjoyed these Johannes Vermeer art projects, and that they offered a little insight into the life and work of an artist we don’t know much about. Although Vermeer was such a talented painter, he didn’t enjoy any fame or glory during his life. He struggled to support his 15 children, and all the stress led to an early death at 43, leaving behind mountains of debt. At least his work has been acknowledged now, and his masterpiece is as famous as the Mona Lisa!
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