"Vermeer" by Tomas Tranströmer, or a Painter on a Poet's Couch.
This article presents an interpretation of Tomas Transtrőmer's poem "Vermeer" from the perspective of psychoanalytic theory, which describes the creative process as an act of overcoming the depressive position. The poem is considered a testimony to the reception of a painting, in which the viewer di...
| Publicado en: | Scandinavian Studies Vol. 98; no. 2; pp. 88 - 110 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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University of Wisconsin Press
2026
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=hlh&AN=194603998&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: hlh uiTerm: 194603998 longDbName: Humanities International Complete uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00365637 SVT jtl: Scandinavian Studies issn: 00365637 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: 2026 vid: 98 iid: 2 pid: 249 pub: University of Wisconsin Press artinfo: ui: 194603998 ppf: 88 ppct: 22 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T – @attributes: type: P size: 702KB tig: atl: "Vermeer" by Tomas Tranströmer, or a Painter on a Poet's Couch. aug: au: Szewczyk-Haake, Katarzyna su: Psychoanalytic theory Artistic creation Painters Ekphrasis Literary theory Mental depression Creative writing Vermeer, Johannes, 1632-1675 sug: subj: Psychoanalytic theory Artistic creation Painters Ekphrasis Literary theory Mental depression Creative writing Vermeer, Johannes, 1632-1675 keyword: aesthetic experience creative process ekphrasis Jan Vermeer in poetry psychoanalysis Tomas Tranströmer ab: This article presents an interpretation of Tomas Transtrőmer's poem "Vermeer" from the perspective of psychoanalytic theory, which describes the creative process as an act of overcoming the depressive position. The poem is considered a testimony to the reception of a painting, in which the viewer discovers evidence of the crisis experienced by the artist and his successful overcoming of it—and as a creative act, repeating the painter's experience. The close reading of the ekphrasis takes into account the observations of art historians that the striking calmness of Vermeer's depictions finds a counterpoint in the recurring motifs of the map and the letter introduced by the painter. A similar technique used by Tranströmer in "Vermeer" is the interplay between "inside" and "outside," resulting in important observations about the sources and essence of the creative act. In conclusion, a more general view of Tranströmer's lyrical anthropology of art and the creative act is proposed. It is claimed that the Swedish poet had recognized the universal significance of art and creation basing on their importance in human self-discovery in the world—a view close to some elements of the psychoanalytical theory of art. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: Y custom: Copyright of Scandinavian Studies is the property of University of Wisconsin Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. item: Scandinavian Studies holder: University of Wisconsin Press dt: @attributes: year: 2026 holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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