Johannes Vermeer: Guide to Vermeer’s Life and Art

Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) painted some of the most iconic images of the Dutch Baroque period. Vermeer achieved modest celebrity during his lifetime, but only drew considerable notice among art historians after his death. Famed for his use of light, Vermeer brought great care to cityscapes, interior scenes, and self-portraits alike. Vermeer’s works are now housed in museums from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Johannes Vermeer spent the majority of his life in the Dutch city of Delft, located near Amsterdam.

• Art dealership: Johannes Vermeer’s father was a weaver who produced goods from silk and caffa, and later operated an inn and worked as an art dealer on the side. Following the elder Vermeer's death, Johannes took over his father’s art dealership.
• Training: Catholic painter Abraham Bloemaert is believed to have been one of Vermeer’s mentors. In December 1653, Vermeer furthered his artistic training by joining a painter's trade organization known as the Delft Guild of Saint Luke.
• Obscurity: Vermeer worked in relative obscurity for much of his career, and money was scarce. This was exacerbated by a nationwide crisis in 1672 known in Holland as "the year of the disaster." By the time of his death in December 1675, Vermeer was deeply indebted and relatively anonymous in the cultural scenes of Amsterdam and The Hague.
• Legacy: In 1866, French journalist and art critic Théophile Thoré-Bürger included Vermeer in the influential Gazette des Beaux-Arts. The publication included Vermeer as an influential figure in the history of nineteenth-century Dutch Baroque art.

Vermeer painted cityscapes, self-portraits, and interior scenes of middle-class life. Vermeer employed the following techniques in many of his works:

1. 1. Muted tones: Like many painters of Northern Europe, Vermeer leaned heavily on muted colors such as gray, brown, and black.
2. 2. Natural light: Vermeer stands out among his contemporaries for the use of light, particularly natural light from an open window. In works like The Milkmaid (1658) and The Music Lesson or A Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman (c. 1662–1665), muted sunlight seems to sweep across the canvas. Some art historians believe he may have used a camera obscura (a precursor to the modern camera) to capture the radiant light that dominates his paintings.
3. 3. Composition: X-radiographs of Vermeer’s works show that the painter rearranged and added elements to his paintings to create spatial depth and negative space.

Some of Vermeer’s paintings may have been lost during the 200-year period between his death and his rediscovery. Still, numerous Vermeer paintings are part of the Dutch Baroque canon:

1. 1. Diana and Her Companions (c. 1656): This mythological painting features Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting and the moon, wearing a yellow dress and being tended to by companions. The moody color palette and solemn expression of the nymphs make for an unusual depiction of the myth.
2. 2. The Girl with the Wine Glass (c. 1659): This domestic scene showcases a smiling young woman wearing a fiery red dress and holding the base of a wine glass. The interior scene also features two men, one appearing to be sleeping and the other focused on the woman. The painting is at the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig, Germany.
3. 3. Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (c. 1659): This oil painting features a young blond woman reading a letter in front of an open window. The foreground features a rug-covered table topped with a fruit bowl, and draperies frame the subject. The Elector of Saxony, Augustus III of Poland, purchased the painting in 1742, believing it was Rembrandt’s work.
4. 4. Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665): This oil painting is Vermeer’s best-known work and depicts a young woman wearing a large pearl earring, one of a few works by Vermeer with a pearl motif. The small painting is seventeen by fifteen inches and is part of the collection at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague.

Grab the MasterClass Annual Membership and plumb the depths of your creativity with the help of modern artist Jeff Koons, abstract artist Futura, and stage designer Es Devlin. Our exclusive video lessons will teach you to do things like utilize color and scale, explore the beauty in everyday objects, and so much more.

Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) painted some of the most iconic images of the Dutch Baroque period. Vermeer achieved modest celebrity during his lifetime, but only drew considerable notice among art historians after his death. Famed for his use of light, Vermeer brought great care to cityscapes, interior scenes, and self-portraits alike. Vermeer’s works are now housed in museums from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Johannes Vermeer spent the majority of his life in the Dutch city of Delft, located near Amsterdam.

• Art dealership: Johannes Vermeer’s father was a weaver who produced goods from silk and caffa, and later operated an inn and worked as an art dealer on the side. Following the elder Vermeer's death, Johannes took over his father’s art dealership.
• Training: Catholic painter Abraham Bloemaert is believed to have been one of Vermeer’s mentors. In December 1653, Vermeer furthered his artistic training by joining a painter's trade organization known as the Delft Guild of Saint Luke.
• Obscurity: Vermeer worked in relative obscurity for much of his career, and money was scarce. This was exacerbated by a nationwide crisis in 1672 known in Holland as "the year of the disaster." By the time of his death in December 1675, Vermeer was deeply indebted and relatively anonymous in the cultural scenes of Amsterdam and The Hague.
• Legacy: In 1866, French journalist and art critic Théophile Thoré-Bürger included Vermeer in the influential Gazette des Beaux-Arts. The publication included Vermeer as an influential figure in the history of nineteenth-century Dutch Baroque art.

Vermeer painted cityscapes, self-portraits, and interior scenes of middle-class life. Vermeer employed the following techniques in many of his works:

1. 1. Muted tones: Like many painters of Northern Europe, Vermeer leaned heavily on muted colors such as gray, brown, and black.
2. 2. Natural light: Vermeer stands out among his contemporaries for the use of light, particularly natural light from an open window. In works like The Milkmaid (1658) and The Music Lesson or A Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman (c. 1662–1665), muted sunlight seems to sweep across the canvas. Some art historians believe he may have used a camera obscura (a precursor to the modern camera) to capture the radiant light that dominates his paintings.
3. 3. Composition: X-radiographs of Vermeer’s works show that the painter rearranged and added elements to his paintings to create spatial depth and negative space.

Some of Vermeer’s paintings may have been lost during the 200-year period between his death and his rediscovery. Still, numerous Vermeer paintings are part of the Dutch Baroque canon:

1. 1. Diana and Her Companions (c. 1656): This mythological painting features Diana, the Roman goddess of hunting and the moon, wearing a yellow dress and being tended to by companions. The moody color palette and solemn expression of the nymphs make for an unusual depiction of the myth.
2. 2. The Girl with the Wine Glass (c. 1659): This domestic scene showcases a smiling young woman wearing a fiery red dress and holding the base of a wine glass. The interior scene also features two men, one appearing to be sleeping and the other focused on the woman. The painting is at the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig, Germany.
3. 3. Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (c. 1659): This oil painting features a young blond woman reading a letter in front of an open window. The foreground features a rug-covered table topped with a fruit bowl, and draperies frame the subject. The Elector of Saxony, Augustus III of Poland, purchased the painting in 1742, believing it was Rembrandt’s work.
4. 4. Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665): This oil painting is Vermeer’s best-known work and depicts a young woman wearing a large pearl earring, one of a few works by Vermeer with a pearl motif. The small painting is seventeen by fifteen inches and is part of the collection at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague.

Grab the MasterClass Annual Membership and plumb the depths of your creativity with the help of modern artist Jeff Koons, abstract artist Futura, and stage designer Es Devlin. Our exclusive video lessons will teach you to do things like utilize color and scale, explore the beauty in everyday objects, and so much more.