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Johannes Vermeer 1632 – 1675

Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer (/vərˈmɪər/; Dutch: [joːˈɦɑnəs jɑn vərˈmeːr]; October 1632 – December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime. He evidently was not wealthy, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death, perhaps because he produced relatively few paintings.
With Rembrandt and Frans Hals, Vermeer ranks among the most admired of all Dutch artists, but he was much less well known in his own day and remained relatively obscure until the end of the nineteenth century. The main reason for this is that he produced a small number of pictures, perhaps about forty-five (of which thirty-six are known today), primarily for a small circle of patrons in Delft. Indeed, as much as half of Vermeer’s output was acquired by the local collector Pieter van Ruijven. Although Vermeer’s work was known to other connoisseurs in Delft and the neighboring court city of The Hague, and a few of his paintings sold to individuals farther afield (Antwerp and Amsterdam), most Dutch painters turned out hundreds of pictures for a much broader market. Adding to his image as an isolated figure are the fact that Vermeer’s teacher is unknown, and that he evidently had no pupils. However, the artist was a respected member of the painters’ guild in Delft, and he exchanged pictorial ideas with painters active in that city (especially Pieter de Hooch in the 1650s) and in the region (for example, Frans van Mieris in Leiden).

Diana and her Companions 1653-1654	Christ in the House of Martha and Mary 1654	Saint Praxidis, after Felice Ficherelli 1655	The Procures 1656	A maid asleep 1656-1657	Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window 1657	Officer and Laughing Girl 1657	The glass of wine 1658-1660	The Little Street 1658-1660
A Lady and Two Gentlemen 1659	Girl interrupted at her music 1658-1661	The Milkmaid 1660	View on Delft 1660-1661	Young Woman with a Pearl Necklace 1662	Woman reading a letter. Woman in Blue Reading a Letter 1662-1663	Woman with a lute 1662-1664	The music lesson 1662-1665	Young Woman with a Water Pitcher 1662-1665
The Concert 1664	The Girl with a Pearl Earring 1665	Woman Holding a Balance 1665	A lady writing 1665-1666	Girl with the red hat 1665-1667	Study of a young woman 1665-1667	Girl with a Flute 1666	Mistress and Maid. Lady with Her Maidservant Holding a Letter 1666-1667	The Art of Painting 1666-1668
The astronomer 1668	The Geographe 1668-1669	The Love Letter 1669	The Lacemaker 1669-1671	Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid 1670	A Lady Standing at a Virginal 1670-1672	A young woman seated at a virginal. A Lady Seated at a Virginal 1670-1672	A young woman seated at the virginals 1670-1672	The Guitar Player. Young woman playing a guitar 1670-1672
Allegory on Faith 1671-1674