Vermeer … his art and his life

Johannes or Jan Vermeer (baptized in Delft with the name Joannis on October 31,1632, and buried in the same city under the name Jan on December 16, 1675) was a Dutch Baroque painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of ordinary life. His father, Reijnier Janszoon, was a middle-class silk or caffa worker Life The Kitchen Maid( )

Vermeer married a catholic girl named Catherina Bolenes. His mother-in-law, Maria Thins, was significantly wealthier than he, and it was probably she who insisted Vermeer convert to Catholicism before the marriage on April 5, 1653.

Career It is not certain where Vermeer was apprenticed as a painter, nor with whom. It is generally believed that he studied in his home town and it is suggested that his teacher was either Carel Fabritius or more likely Leonaert Bramer.It is possible he taught himself or had information from one of his father's connections.

On December 29, 1653, Vermeer became a member of the Guilt of Saint Luke and in 1662 he was elected head of the guild and was reelected in 1663, 1670, and 1671, evidence that he was considered an established craftsman among his peers. Vermeer worked slowly, probably producing three paintings a year, and on order. When Balthasar de Monconys visited him in 1663 to see some of his work, the diplomat and the two French clergymen who accompanied him were sent to a baker, who owned one painting he was very proud of.

In 1672 a severe economic downturn (the “Year of Disaster") struck the Netherlands. The collapse of the art market damaged Vermeer's business as both a painter and an art dealer, as his wife stated later. With a large family to support, Vermeer again was forced to borrow money. His master-piece: Girl with a Pearl Earring(1665–1667)

In December 1675 Vermeer fell into a frenzy and died at the age of 43, within a day and a half. In a written document Catharina Bolnes attributed her husband's death to the stress of financial pressures

Mauritshuis The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis ("Maurice's House") is an art museum in Den Haag. Previously the residence of count John Maurice of Nassau, it now has a large art collection, including paintings by Dutch painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn and also works of the German painters

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