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Vermeer's reasons for painting this allegory are not known. He may have executed it for the Jesuit Order in Delft or for a wealthy Catholic patron. He derived many of the theological concepts from descriptions of the allegorical figure of Faith in the 1644 Dutch edition of Cesare Ripa's Iconologia, a book particularly admired by the Jesuits. Vermeer however, amplified Ripa's comments by including objects from his own household, for example, the ebony crucifix and the gilt leather panel. Also listed in the inventory of his collection was a painting of the Crucifixion, which must be the work by Jacob Jordaens he has depicted hanging on the rear wall.
Excerpt taken from
Vermeer: The Complete Works
by Arthur K. Wheelock Jr |
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