Johannes Vermeer
The Sphinx of Delft: Master of Light and Domestic Interiors
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Johannes Vermeer (also called Jan Vermeer; born October 1632, died 15 December 1675) was a Dutch painter known for his scenes of middle-class life inside homes. He is regarded as a major figure of the Dutch Golden Age. In his own time, he had modest success as a genre painter in Delft and The Hague. He created only a small number of paintings and made most of his income as an art dealer. He was not rich; when he died, his wife was left with debts.
Vermeer painted slowly and carefully, often using costly pigments. He is famous for his skillful handling of light. According to writer Hans Koningsberger, nearly all of Vermeer’s paintings appear to take place in two small rooms in his Delft house, using the same furniture and decorations in different arrangements, and often showing the same people—mostly women.
After his death, Vermeer’s modest fame faded. He was barely mentioned in Arnold Houbraken’s 1718 survey of Dutch painters, and so was left out of later art histories for almost two hundred years. In the 1800s, Gustav Friedrich Waagen and Théophile Thoré-Bürger rediscovered him. Thoré-Bürger published an essay that credited him with 66 works, though only 34 paintings are now universally accepted as his. Since then, his reputation has grown enormously.
Vermeer was baptized in the Reformed Church on 31 October 1632. His mother, Digna Baltens, came from Antwerp; her father, Balthasar Geerts, worked in metal and was arrested for counterfeiting. His father, Reijnier Janszoon, was a middle-class silk or caffa worker. Reijnier apprenticed in Amsterdam on a street with many painters. He married Digna in 1615, and they moved to Delft, where their daughter Gertruy was baptized in 1620. In 1625, Reijnier was in a fight with a soldier who later died. Around then, Reijnier began dealing in paintings. In 1631, he leased an inn called “The Flying Fox.” By 1635, he lived on Voldersgracht. In 1641, he bought a larger inn on the market square named Mechelen, which was a heavy financial burden. Around 1640, for unclear reasons, he took the surname Vermeer. When Reijnier died in October 1652, Vermeer took over the family art business.
In April 1653, Vermeer married Catharina Bolnes, a Catholic. The blessing took place in the village of Schipluiden. Her mother, Maria Thins, was wealthier and initially opposed the marriage, likely insisting Vermeer convert to Catholicism before the wedding on 5 April. Vermeer’s father’s debts also made negotiations difficult. The Catholic painter Leonaert Bramer spoke for Vermeer, and Maria dropped her objections. Art historian Walter Liedtke believed Vermeer’s conversion was sincere. His painting *The Allegory of Faith* (made between 1670 and 1672) emphasizes religious symbols, including the Eucharist, rather than his usual naturalism. Liedtke suggested it was made for a devout Catholic patron, possibly for a hidden church. Eventually, the couple moved in with Maria Thins in a large house on Oude Langendijk, next to a hidden Jesuit church. Vermeer lived there the rest of his life, painting in a front room on the second floor. His wife had 15 children; four were buried before baptism, recorded as “child of Johan Vermeer.” Ten children are known from wills: Maertge, Elisabeth, Cornelia, Aleydis, Beatrix, Johannes, Gertruyd, Franciscus, Catharina, and Ignatius. Most names are saints; the youngest, Ignatius, was likely named after Ignatius of Loyola.
It is not known where or with whom Vermeer trained. Some have speculated that Carel Fabritius was his teacher, based on a disputed source.
- born
- October 1632 (baptized 31 October 1632)
- died
- 15 December 1675
- field
- Painting
- nationality
- Dutch
- known_for
- Domestic interior scenes, masterful use of light, expensive pigments
Lore & Background
Vermeer worked slowly and with great care, and frequently used very expensive pigments. He is particularly renowned for making masterful use of light in his work. 'Almost all his paintings', Hans Koningsberger wrote, 'are apparently set in two smallish rooms in his house in Delft; they show the same furniture and decorations in various arrangements and they often portray the same people, mostly women.' The modest celebrity he enjoyed during his life gave way to obscurity after his death. He was barely mentioned in Arnold Houbraken's major source book on 17th-century Dutch painting (Grand Theatre of Dutch Painters and Women Artists, published 1718) and, as a result, was omitted from subsequent surveys of Dutch art for nearly two centuries. In the 19th century, Vermeer was rediscovered by Gustav Friedrich Waagen and Théophile Thoré-Bürger, who published an essay attributing 66 works to him, although only 34 paintings are universally attributed to him today. Since that time, Vermeer's reputation has grown enormously.
Reader's Guide
Relatively little was known about Vermeer's life until recently. He seems to have been devoted exclusively to his art, living out his life in the city of Delft. Until the 19th century, the only sources of information were a few registers, official documents, and comments by other artists; for this reason, Thoré-Bürger named him 'The Sphinx of Delft'. John Michael Montias added details on the family from the city archives of Delft in his Artists and Artisans in Delft: A Socio-Economic Study of the Seventeenth Century (1982). Johannes Vermeer was baptized within the Reformed Church on 31 October 1632. His mother, Digna Baltens (c. 1596–1670), was from Antwerp. Digna's father, Balthasar Geerts, or Gerrits (born in Antwerp in or around 1573), led an enterprising life in metalworking, and was arrested for counterfeiting. Vermeer's father, named Reijnier Janszoon, was a middle-class worker of silk or caffa (a mixture of silk and cotton or wool). He was the son of Jan Reyersz and Cornelia (Neeltge) Goris. As an apprentice in Amsterdam, Reijnier lived on fashionable Sint Antoniesbreestraat, a street with many resident painters at the time. In 1615, Reijnier married Digna. The couple moved to Delft and had a daughter named Gertruy who was baptized in 1620. Around this time, Reijnier began dealing in paintings. In 1631, he leased an inn, which he called 'The Flying Fox'. In 1635, he lived on Voldersgracht 25 or 26. In 1641, he bought a larger inn on the market square, named after the Flemish town Mechelen. The acquisition of the inn constituted a considerable financial burden. Around 1940, Reijnier assumed the surname Vermeer, for unclear reasons. When Reijnier died in October 1652, Vermeer took over the operation of the family's art business. In April 1653, Johannes Vermeer married a Catholic woman, Catharina Bolnes (Bolenes). The blessing took place in the quiet nearby village of Schipluiden. Vermeer's new mother-in-law, Maria Thins, was initially opposed to the marriage as she was significantly wealthier than he, and it was probably she who insisted that Vermeer convert to Catholicism before the marriage on 5 April. The fact that Vermeer's father was in considerable debt also did not help in discussions on the marriage. Leonaert Bramer, who was Catholic himself, put in a good word for Vermeer and it was this that led Maria to drop her oppositions. According to art
Did You Know?
- Vermeer's father, Reijnier Janszoon, was involved in a fight with a soldier named Willem van Bylandt in 1625, who died from his wounds five months later.
- Vermeer's wife gave birth to 15 children, four of whom were buried before being baptized.
- Vermeer was rediscovered in the 19th century by Gustav Friedrich Waagen and Théophile Thoré-Bürger, who attributed 66 works to him, though only 34 are universally accepted today.
- In 2023, Maria de Knuijt was identified as Vermeer's main patron by curators at the Rijksmuseum.
Notable Quotes (Wikiquote)
"Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer (October 1632 – December 1675) was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life." — Johannes Vermeer "Arshile Gorky in: 'A visit to the Metropolitan Museum with Gorky', Ethel Schwabacher, 1947; as quoted in "Arshile Gorky, – Goats on the roof", ed. by Matthew Spender, Ridinghouse, London 2009, p. 357." — Johannes Vermeer "Arshile Gorky in: 'A visit to the Metropolitan Museum with Gorky', Ethel Schwabacher, 1947; as quoted in "Arshile Gorky, – Goats on the roof", ed. by Matthew Spender, Ridinghouse, London 2009, pp. 357-58." — Johannes Vermeer "Germaine Greer. The Obstacle Race (1979) Chapter V: Dimension, p. 105." — Johannes Vermeer
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