Johannes Vermeer, also known as Jan Vermeer (1632 – 1675), was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately successful provincial genre painter, recognized in Delft and The Hague. Nonetheless, he produced relatively few paintings and evidently was not wealthy, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death.

Johannes Vermeer, one of the greatest Dutch masters, is responsible for some of the most iconic imagery in the history of art, such as The Girl with a Pearl Earring (ca.1665), The Milkmaid (ca. 1660) and The Art of Painting (1665-1668). His artworks are a rarity, with only around 36 known paintings attributed to him. Much of Vermeer’s life remains a mystery, which makes him and his paintings all the more captivating and intriguing.

Very little is known about Vermeer’s early education and why he decided to pursue a career as a painter, but in December 1653 he was registered as a master painter in the Saint Luke’s Guild. His mother in-law, Maria Thins, possessed a moderate collection of paintings by the Utrecht Caravaggisti, painters that were profoundly influenced by the art of Caravaggio. This influence was a factor in the development of Vermeer’s early style in biblical and mythological paintings, like Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (1654) and Saint Praxedis (ca. 1655).

In the latter part of the 1650s, Johannes Vermeer gradually switched to genre painting, that depicted intimate scenes of domestic life. His most famous paintings were interior scenes of young women engaged in reading and writing, playing musical instruments and doing domestic work. In Young Woman with a Water Pitcher (ca. 1662-1665), Vermeer demonstrated his mastery of light and texture.

In 1671-1672, Vermeer was once again selected to serve as head of the Delft Saint Luke’s Guild. Despite being well respected within Delft’s artistic community, Vermeer fell into financial peril towards the end of his life. He died in 1675 in Delft, leaving his wife and children with enormous debt. Because he only garnered moderate success and encountered unfortunate circumstances at the end of his life, Vermeer was largely forgotten by history. However, this all changed in the 19th century, mostly due to the work of French art critic, Théophile Thoré-Bürger. Thoré-Bürger’s efforts to identify Vermeer’s paintings, and the admiration he expressed for Johannes Vermeer in his writings piqued the interest of the broader public. Source: Wikiart.