Skip to main content
G:W1:11 3
Edit position
Edit position

Last set 2 days, 18 hours ago. Manual moves override automatic placement until the next shelfie/spine match.

Vermeer's camera : uncovering the truth behind the masterpieces / Philip Steadman
Diagnose this book
Open in Vernon Browser

Vermeer's camera : uncovering the truth behind the masterpieces / Philip Steadman

by Philip Steadman

This study investigates the theory that Vermeer used a camera obscura to achieve his precise compositions and realistic lighting. It analyses technical evidence within the paintings to explore how the device influenced his unique perspective.

Accession 9643 ISBN 9780192159670 Publisher Oxford University Press
Book Images
Reference and live side by side Hover to see live images
Reference
Vermeer's camera : uncovering the truth behind the masterpieces / Philip Steadman cover
Live
Vermeer's camera : uncovering the truth behind the masterpieces / Philip Steadman live spine
No live
Vermeer's camera : uncovering the truth behind the masterpieces / Philip Steadman live spine
Vermeer's camera : uncovering the truth behind the masterpieces / Philip Steadman cover
No live
TAGS
Curated Derived
Art Authors Biography Economics Education Painting Photography Science
CONNECTIONS
No connections
State
on_shelf
True
position_updated_at
2026-05-22 13:12
orientation
vertical
Details

Physical

binding_type
Hard Back
dimensions
none captured
spine_text
none captured
LOCATION HISTORY
G:W1:11 3 Current vertical
1 week, 2 days ago
G:W1:11 3 vertical
1 week, 2 days ago
Book Location
Updated 2 days, 18 hours ago
Vernon snapshot
View live

Frozen copy of Vernon's record from the last sync. Fields tagged → flow back into the Pulse record.

Last synced 2026-05-21 00:48 (4 days, 6 hours ago)

Identity

name→ title
Vermeer's camera : uncovering the truth behind the masterpieces / Philip Steadman
vernon_id
13429
accession_no→ accession_number
9643
vernon_slug
vermeers-camera-uncovering-the-truth-behind-the-masterpieces-philip-steadman

Drives Pulse state

curr_loc_status→ on_shelf
On Shelf
location_name
Zone W1 (Live bays)/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA
location_reason
On Shelf
isbn_issn→ isbn (when valid)
9780192159670

Descriptive

production_date
2001 {copyright}
object_type
Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication
object_status
Accessioned
brief_description
Philip Steadman traces the development of the camera obscura--first described by Leonaro da Vinci--weighs the arguments that scholars have made for and against Vermeer's use of the camera, and offers a fascinating examination of the paintings themselves and what they alone can tell us of Vermeer's technique. Vermeer left no record of his method and indeed we know almost nothing of the man nor of how he worked. But by a close and illuminating study of the paintings Steadman concludes that Vermeer did use the camera obscura and shows how the inherent defects in this primitive device enabled Vermeer to achieve some remarkable effects--the slight blurring of image, the absence of sharp lines, the peculiar illusion not of closeness but of distance in the domestic scenes. Steadman argues that the use of the camera also explains some previously unexplainable qualities of Vermeer's art, such as the absence of conventional drawing, the pattern of underpainting in areas of pure tone, the pervasive feeling of reticence that suffuses his canvases, and the almost magical sense that Vermeer is painting not objects but light itself.

Subjects & people

authors→ author (initial fill only)
Philip Steadman
tags→ tags
Art, Arts, Science, Painting, Graphic arts, Persons, Artists, Technology, Art -- History, Camera obscuras, Optical instruments, Physical instruments, Scientific apparatus and instruments, Research -- Equipment and supplies, Art and technology
subject_people
Johannes Vermeer (b.1632, d.1675)
subject_objects
—

Cover image

vernon_cover_image_id→ cover_image
21594

Raw Vernon JSON

click to inspect

The source payload behind the snapshot above.
Use ⌘F to search once expanded.
{7 keys}
"slug": "vermeers-camera-uncovering-the-truth-behind-the-masterpieces-philip-steadman"
"opacObjectId": "13429"
"opacCollection": {1 keys}
"opacCollectionId": "1"
"imagesCollection": {2 keys}
"images": [1 items]
"[0]": {5 keys}
"imageId": "21594"
"cssColors": [3 items]
"[0]": {9 keys}
"hex": "000000"
"hue": 0
"rank": 1
"presence": 80.33
"colorName": "black"
"lightness": 0
"colorGroup": "gray"
"saturation": 0
"formattedColorName": "black"
"[1]": {9 keys}
"hex": "d2b48c"
"hue": 34
"rank": 2
"presence": 11.54
"colorName": "tan"
"lightness": 69
"colorGroup": "brown"
"saturation": 44
"formattedColorName": "tan"
"[2]": {9 keys}
"hex": "696969"
"hue": 0
"rank": 3
"presence": 7.81
"colorName": "dimgray"
"lightness": 41
"colorGroup": "gray"
"saturation": 0
"formattedColorName": "dim gray"
"rawColors": [7 items]
"[0]": {6 keys}
"hex": "101210"
"hue": 120
"rank": 1
"presence": 80.33
"lightness": 6
"saturation": 5
"[1]": {6 keys}
"hex": "d6d2c4"
"hue": 46
"rank": 2
"presence": 11.54
"lightness": 80
"saturation": 18
"[2]": {6 keys}
"hex": "605c49"
"hue": 49
"rank": 3
"presence": 7.81
"lightness": 33
"saturation": 13
"[3]": {6 keys}
"hex": "838c89"
"hue": 160
"rank": 4
"presence": 0.06
"lightness": 53
"saturation": 3
"[4]": {6 keys}
"hex": "916033"
"hue": 28
"rank": 5
"presence": 0.07
"lightness": 38
"saturation": 47
"[5]": {6 keys}
"hex": "7f7f8e"
"hue": 240
"rank": 6
"presence": 0.05
"lightness": 52
"saturation": 6
"[6]": {6 keys}
"hex": "434c40"
"hue": 105
"rank": 7
"presence": 0.13
"lightness": 27
"saturation": 8
"imageLabels": [10 items]
"[0]": {5 keys}
"count": 19411
"score": 84.78
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Font"
"imageLabelId": 12
"[1]": {5 keys}
"count": 19018
"score": 82.47
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Publication"
"imageLabelId": 23
"[2]": {5 keys}
"count": 519
"score": 79.25
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Musical instrument"
"imageLabelId": 41
"[3]": {5 keys}
"count": 15171
"score": 74.36
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Book"
"imageLabelId": 67
"[4]": {5 keys}
"count": 5351
"score": 69.26
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Advertising"
"imageLabelId": 71
"[5]": {5 keys}
"count": 11760
"score": 68.0
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Poster"
"imageLabelId": 21
"[6]": {5 keys}
"count": 12694
"score": 66.97
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Book cover"
"imageLabelId": 90
"[7]": {5 keys}
"count": 2395
"score": 65.79
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Event"
"imageLabelId": 46
"[8]": {5 keys}
"count": 333
"score": 64.74
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Engineering"
"imageLabelId": 149
"[9]": {5 keys}
"count": 130
"score": 64.6
"status": "auto_verified"
"imageLabel": "Door"
"imageLabelId": 426
"imageDerivatives": [6 items]
"[0]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/large/2499/72b26f41c777238c848b88a26467081788a1c0cd.jpg"
"width": "530"
"height": "800"
"identifier": "LARGE"
"[1]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/medium/2499/72b26f41c777238c848b88a26467081788a1c0cd.jpg"
"width": "265"
"height": "400"
"identifier": "MEDIUM"
"[2]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/nano/2499/72b26f41c777238c848b88a26467081788a1c0cd.jpg"
"width": "23"
"height": "35"
"identifier": "NANO"
"[3]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/small/2499/72b26f41c777238c848b88a26467081788a1c0cd.jpg"
"width": "99"
"height": "150"
"identifier": "SMALL"
"[4]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/tiny/2499/72b26f41c777238c848b88a26467081788a1c0cd.jpg"
"width": "50"
"height": "75"
"identifier": "TINY"
"[5]": {4 keys}
"url": "https://browser.mona.net.au/records/images/xlarge/2499/72b26f41c777238c848b88a26467081788a1c0cd.jpg"
"width": "795"
"height": "1200"
"identifier": "XLARGE"
"totalImages": 1
"objectSearchScore": 0.3118719
"opacObjectFieldSets": [40 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "accession_no"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "9643"
"[1]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "name"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Vermeer's camera : uncovering the truth behind the masterpieces / Philip Steadman"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "title"
"value": "Vermeer's camera : uncovering the truth behind the masterpieces / Philip Steadman"
"[2]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "other_name"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[3]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "artist_last_first"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Steadman, Philip"
"[4]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_date"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "2001 {copyright}"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [2 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "earliest_date"
"value": "2001-01-01Z"
"[1]": {2 keys}
"key": "latest_date"
"value": "2001-12-31Z"
"[5]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_date_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[6]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "edition"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[7]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "brief_desc"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Philip Steadman traces the development of the camera obscura--first described by Leonaro da Vinci--weighs the arguments that scholars have made for and against Vermeer's use of the camera, and offers a fascinating examination of the paintings themselves and what they alone can tell us of Vermeer's technique. Vermeer left no record of his method and indeed we know almost nothing of the man nor of how he worked. But by a close and illuminating study of the paintings Steadman concludes that Vermeer did use the camera obscura and shows how the inherent defects in this primitive device enabled Vermeer to achieve some remarkable effects--the slight blurring of image, the absence of sharp lines, the peculiar illusion not of closeness but of distance in the domestic scenes. Steadman argues that the use of the camera also explains some previously unexplainable qualities of Vermeer's art, such as the absence of conventional drawing, the pattern of underpainting in areas of pure tone, the pervasive feeling of reticence that suffuses his canvases, and the almost magical sense that Vermeer is painting not objects but light itself."
"[8]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "measure_desc"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[9]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "credit_line"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[10]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "curr_loc_status"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "On Shelf"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "curr_loc_status:"On Shelf""
"[11]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "ob_status"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Accessioned"
"[12]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "lender"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[13]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_owner"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[14]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_type"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[15]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_start"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[16]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_expiry"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[17]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "copyright_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[18]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "curr_loc"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Zone W1 (Live bays)/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA"
"[19]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "object_type"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "object_type:"Books/Document genres/Information forms/Visual and Verbal Communication""
"[20]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "collection"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Main Collection/Library"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "collection:"Main Collection/Library""
"[21]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Philadelphia/Pennsylvania/United States of America"
"[22]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "prod_pri_publisher"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Oxford University Press"
"[23]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "physical_notes"
"opacObjectFields": [2 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "xiv, 207 pages : illustrated (colour) ; 24 cm."
"[1]": {1 keys}
"value": "Includes biblioggraphical references and index."
"[24]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "language"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "English"
"[25]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "isbn_issn"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "9780192159670"
"[26]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "user_sym_1"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "759.9492 VER"
"[27]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "usual_loc_being"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": "Zone W1 (Live bays)/Level 1/Phrontisterion/MONA"
"[28]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_class"
"opacObjectFields": [6 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Art -- History/Arts"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Art -- History/Arts""
"[1]": {2 keys}
"value": "Art and technology/Technology/Science"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Art and technology/Technology/Science""
"[2]": {2 keys}
"value": "Art/Arts"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Art/Arts""
"[3]": {2 keys}
"value": "Artists/Persons"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Artists/Persons""
"[4]": {2 keys}
"value": "Camera obscuras/Optical instruments/Physical instruments/Scientific apparatus and instruments/Research -- Equipment and supplies"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Camera obscuras/Optical instruments/Physical instruments/Scientific apparatus and instruments/Research -- Equipment and supplies""
"[5]": {2 keys}
"value": "Painting/Graphic arts/Art/Arts"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_class:"Painting/Graphic arts/Art/Arts""
"[29]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_date"
"opacObjectFields": [0 items]
"[30]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_event"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[31]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_period"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[32]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_object"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[33]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_person"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"value": "Johannes Vermeer (b.1632, d.1675)"
"opacObjectFieldAttributes": [1 items]
"[0]": {2 keys}
"key": "search"
"value": "subject_person:"Johannes Vermeer (b.1632, d.1675)""
"[34]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "subject_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[35]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_person"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[36]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_place"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[37]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_event"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[38]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "assoc_object"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"[39]": {2 keys}
"identifier": "user_sym_9"
"opacObjectFields": [1 items]
"[0]": {1 keys}
"value": ""
"relationshipsCollection": {2 keys}
"relationships": [1 items]
"[0]": {4 keys}
"relatedRecords": [1 items]
"[0]": {3 keys}
"slug": "philip-steadman"
"title": "Philip Steadman"
"relatedRecordId": "14194"
"relationshipId": "object_prod_pri_person"
"relatedRecordType": "person"
"totalRelatedRecords": 1
"totalRelationships": 1