Jonathan Janson
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Janson is an American
painter and art historian.
and raised in upstate New York
and Florida
, Janson graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design
(Providence, Rhode Island
) in 1972 with a major in painting. The turning point in his studies came when in 1969 he visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
in Boston, Mass., where he saw Johannes Vermeer
’s "Concert." This small but perfect masterpiece left a profound impression on the emergent painter decisively orienting his artistic direction. In his senior year at R.I.S.D. he studied in Rome
, Italy
, having been selected for the European Honors Program at Palazzo Cenci.
After a brief return to his home in Florida, Janson returned to Rome (where he continues to live and work until today) to deepen his studies of 17th-century European painting and establish his family. In this period of creative incubation, Janson came to grips with the complexities of organizing detailed, multi-layered figurative painting.
Janson put together a group of small, tightly composed interior paintings and suburban landscapes manifestly inspired by Vermeer in which the artist updated the Dutch painter’s motifs of contemporary life. A Roman art dealer organized Janson’s first solo show in 1980 which introduced his work to the Italian art public. Shortly after, he began showing with the influential Galleria Forni, Bologna which exposed his work to an international audience. Janson continued to refine his technique while exploring the cultural continuum of Dutch genre
themes such as reading, writing, family life and music making.
In 1983, after a summer sojourn in his native Florida, Janson painted a series of minimalist watercolors inspired by the harsh, semitropical environment of the suburban Florida landscape. The most characteristic motifs of this series are devoid of human presence, which, however, is incessantly signaled by cars moving along highways or parked quietly in anonymous strip-mall parking lots or gas stations. These small scenes are characterized by intense backlighting which frames the voids and unnoticed events of America’s daily life. The artist’s deft touch and two or three color palette draws inspiration from the topographical studies of William Turner
and the New England watercolors of Edward Hopper.
In 1984 Janson presented a group of the Florida watercolors in a solo-exhibition at the historical photo-realist O.K. Harris Gallery, New York. In the years which follow, he took part in more than 50 group and 30 solo exhibitions until the most recent in late 2009, a solo-exhibition of Seattle and Florida suburban landscapes unified by a mute gray palette and severe weather conditions. Janson continues to work alternately in the two parallel modes of painting: landscape watercolors and interior oil paintings.
comprising hundreds of web pages, thousands of images, collaborative studies, interviews with Vermeer notables and multi-media features. The site includes a complete interactive catalogue of the Dutch artist which permits the navigator to access extensive information on each work using images mapping and expandable topic boxes. Janson issues a free newsletter which keeps thousands of subscribers informed about Vermeer-related exhibitions, publications and multi-media events.
Janson’s commitment has brought the Essential Vermeer to the attention of art historians and specialists in 17th-century Dutch art
as well as writers who use it regularly as a reference point. He travels extensively and is in constant contact with museum personnel and art historians involved with Dutch genre painting and specifically with the work of Vermeer.
to paint a hypothetical Vermeer for the television adaptation Brush with Fate
, based on Susan Vreeland’s best-selling novel Girl in Hyacinth Blue. It was broadcasted on CBS
a year after.
In 2009, Janson is featured in a documentary Views on Vermeer: 12 Short Stories by Hans Pool and Koos de Wilt. The film presents influential contemporary painters, writers, photographers, art historians and opinion leaders who unravel the extraordinary and mysterious impact of the 17th century Delft
master Johannes Vermeer in our day and age.
In addition to the book he produced a CD, How to Paint Your Own Vermeer. A Painting in Progress which documents the painting of an interior done in the style of Vermeer with sequential images that enhance the textual contents of How to Paint Your Own Vermeer.
His second publication, Looking Over Vermeer’s Shoulders. A Study of the Painting Methods and Materials of Johannes Vermeer is an adaptation from the first one, a comprehensible guide to anyone who is interested in exploring the mysterious relationship between painting technique and artistic expression, as well as the mental and physical machinery of Johannes Vermeer, one of the greatest painting technicians of all time.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter and art historian.
Biography
Born in South River, New JerseySouth River, New Jersey
South River is a Borough in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 15,322....
and raised in upstate New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Janson graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
(Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
) in 1972 with a major in painting. The turning point in his studies came when in 1969 he visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum or Fenway Court, as the museum was known during Isabella Stewart Gardner's lifetime, is a museum in the Fenway-Kenmore neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located within walking distance of the Museum of Fine Arts and near the Back Bay Fens...
in Boston, Mass., where he saw Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
’s "Concert." This small but perfect masterpiece left a profound impression on the emergent painter decisively orienting his artistic direction. In his senior year at R.I.S.D. he studied in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, having been selected for the European Honors Program at Palazzo Cenci.
After a brief return to his home in Florida, Janson returned to Rome (where he continues to live and work until today) to deepen his studies of 17th-century European painting and establish his family. In this period of creative incubation, Janson came to grips with the complexities of organizing detailed, multi-layered figurative painting.
Janson put together a group of small, tightly composed interior paintings and suburban landscapes manifestly inspired by Vermeer in which the artist updated the Dutch painter’s motifs of contemporary life. A Roman art dealer organized Janson’s first solo show in 1980 which introduced his work to the Italian art public. Shortly after, he began showing with the influential Galleria Forni, Bologna which exposed his work to an international audience. Janson continued to refine his technique while exploring the cultural continuum of Dutch genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
themes such as reading, writing, family life and music making.
In 1983, after a summer sojourn in his native Florida, Janson painted a series of minimalist watercolors inspired by the harsh, semitropical environment of the suburban Florida landscape. The most characteristic motifs of this series are devoid of human presence, which, however, is incessantly signaled by cars moving along highways or parked quietly in anonymous strip-mall parking lots or gas stations. These small scenes are characterized by intense backlighting which frames the voids and unnoticed events of America’s daily life. The artist’s deft touch and two or three color palette draws inspiration from the topographical studies of William Turner
William Turner
William Turner MA was an English divine and reformer, a physician and a natural historian. He studied medicine in Italy, and was a friend of the great Swiss naturalist, Conrad Gessner...
and the New England watercolors of Edward Hopper.
In 1984 Janson presented a group of the Florida watercolors in a solo-exhibition at the historical photo-realist O.K. Harris Gallery, New York. In the years which follow, he took part in more than 50 group and 30 solo exhibitions until the most recent in late 2009, a solo-exhibition of Seattle and Florida suburban landscapes unified by a mute gray palette and severe weather conditions. Janson continues to work alternately in the two parallel modes of painting: landscape watercolors and interior oil paintings.
Internet
Responding to the internet medium, Janson created a website called Essential Vermeer in 2001. Essential Vermeer has developed into the primary internet resource for Vermeer studies and the most comprehensive website dedicated to a single painter. Essential Vermeer presents a balanced in-depth study of the life, art and cultural milieu of Johannes VermeerJohannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
comprising hundreds of web pages, thousands of images, collaborative studies, interviews with Vermeer notables and multi-media features. The site includes a complete interactive catalogue of the Dutch artist which permits the navigator to access extensive information on each work using images mapping and expandable topic boxes. Janson issues a free newsletter which keeps thousands of subscribers informed about Vermeer-related exhibitions, publications and multi-media events.
Janson’s commitment has brought the Essential Vermeer to the attention of art historians and specialists in 17th-century Dutch art
Dutch art
Dutch art describes the history of visual arts in the Netherlands, after the United Provinces separated from Flanders. Earlier painting in the area is covered in Early Netherlandish painting and Renaissance art.-Golden Age:...
as well as writers who use it regularly as a reference point. He travels extensively and is in constant contact with museum personnel and art historians involved with Dutch genre painting and specifically with the work of Vermeer.
Television and documentary film
In 2002, Janson was commissioned by the American Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
to paint a hypothetical Vermeer for the television adaptation Brush with Fate
Brush with Fate
Brush with Fate was a made-for-TV film debuted on February 2, 2003, on CBS. It followed the life of an imaginary painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer as it passes through the hands of various people...
, based on Susan Vreeland’s best-selling novel Girl in Hyacinth Blue. It was broadcasted on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
a year after.
In 2009, Janson is featured in a documentary Views on Vermeer: 12 Short Stories by Hans Pool and Koos de Wilt. The film presents influential contemporary painters, writers, photographers, art historians and opinion leaders who unravel the extraordinary and mysterious impact of the 17th century Delft
Delft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
master Johannes Vermeer in our day and age.
Writings
In 2006, Janson published his first book, How to Paint Your Own Vermeer: The Methods and Materials of a Seventeenth-Century Master, mainly thought as a manual for practicing painters who wish to emulate the great Dutch Master’s technique and style.In addition to the book he produced a CD, How to Paint Your Own Vermeer. A Painting in Progress which documents the painting of an interior done in the style of Vermeer with sequential images that enhance the textual contents of How to Paint Your Own Vermeer.
His second publication, Looking Over Vermeer’s Shoulders. A Study of the Painting Methods and Materials of Johannes Vermeer is an adaptation from the first one, a comprehensible guide to anyone who is interested in exploring the mysterious relationship between painting technique and artistic expression, as well as the mental and physical machinery of Johannes Vermeer, one of the greatest painting technicians of all time.
Publications
- How to Paint Your Own Vermeer: The Methods and Materials of a Seventeenth-Century Master. 1st edn 2006.
- How to Paint Your Own Vermeer. A Painting in Progress (CD). 1st edn 2008.
- Looking Over Vermeer's Shoulders. A Study of the Painting Methods and Materials of Johannes Vermeer. 2008.