Rembrandt picked up the luminous tradition of the Venetian school, as did his compatriot Johannes Vermeer, although while the former stands out for his fantastic effects of light, the latter develops in his work a luminosity of great quality in the local tones. Vermeer imprinted his works — generally everyday scenes in interior spaces — with a pale luminosity that created placid and calm atmospheres. He used a technique called pointillé, a series of dots of pigment with which he enhanced the objects, on which he often applied a luminosity that made the surfaces reflect the light in a special way. Vermeer's light softens the contours without losing the solidity of the forms, in a combination of softness and precision that few other artists have achieved.
