Jan Vermeer (1632-1675)

Vermeer is one of famous painters of the Dutch Golden Age, which spanned most of the 17th century (1600s). He was born in October of 1632 in Delft, and spent most of his life there. He became a master in the Painters Guild and eventually Dean of the Guild, acting as a mentor and teacher for young artists.

Vermeer's art is admired for the beautiful composition of his work and his use of transparent color and ability to show layers of light. He was able to do this by a technique called pointillé, in which he added paint in thick dots of light colored paint to add artificial brilliance to an object. He was influenced mostly by other Dutch painters but also the famous Italian artist Caravaggio whose paintings were full of color and drama. Most of Vermeer's paintings depict indoor scenes, and even the two landscapes attributed to him are framed within a window. He painted people from all walks of life, from servants to nobles with rich colors and realistic highlights.

Although he was an art dealer and painter, and very well regarded, Vermeer was never very rich. (Sometimes he had to pay his debts with paintings.) When he died on December 15, 1675, his wife had to arrange for a public sale of her husband's paintings to support herself and their 10 children. Sadly, his work did not become popular until long after his death.

Of the approximately 37 paintings attributed to Vermeer, probably the most famous are The Girl with a Pearl Earring (painted in 1665) and The Lacemaker (done in 1669-1670). Both of these paintings inspired novels, and The Girl with a Pearl Earring was the subject of a movie in 2004.