They have linked light with mental reflection, complex interiors with mental space. I want next to trace Vermeer's use of light and space back to the Renaissance. The parallel development of oil painting and individualism is not going to lose its mystery without a struggle. And yet light and space carry his meaning only by refusing traditional religious values as symbol, like Mark Rothko's chapel without a religion. Light floods the airy spaces and gathers in pools on the floor.
Tiny candles burn near the alter, where angels sing.
Within the nave, and all but two-thirds its size, the Madonna stands with her child. Still another light source, a more gentle light, illuminates her face. He suppresses obvious perspectival clues such as the pillar behind Mary, the church doors at left, or anatomical sense. In that way, he challenges the identification of space with plain drawing, just as Vermeer does by softening the corner of the room behind the open window. The Madonna obviously did not walk in, at least not without stooping more than would be dignified for the mother of God.