Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Vermeer was a realist painter who focused on chiaroscuro and became a master in using this technique. The artist delighted in the technicalities of the camera obscura that had emerged in Dutch markets at this time and was an avid fan of using various lens and glass contraptions to discover new forms of capturing light in various contexts.
There is little information about Vermeer's personal life. He seems to have devoted his time to his work and never left his hometown of Delft. The mystery surrounding Vermeer led to Thoré Bürger naming him "The Sphinx of Delft".
Johannes Vermeer was born to Reijnier Janszoon and Digna Baltens, middle-class innkeepers and prominent silk weavers in the city of Delft. His father later changed his surname to Vermeer but the reason for this remains unknown. Vermeer's father was a member of the Guild of St. Luke where he traded and sold various paintings. It was from this profession that a young Vermeer learned all about art.
Johannes Vermeer was the only son in the family and had just one sibling. He was raised Protestant in a largely conservative Catholic province and later became part of the Guild of St. Luke. It is believed that he apprenticed under Leonart Bramer but no evidence can be sure that he had an influence on Vermeer's works.
Other art historians propose that Vermeer served under Carel Fabritius but again, evidence to prove this is lacking. Some scholars claim that Vermeer was in fact, taught by the Catholic painter Abraham Bloemaert.
In Vermeer's early career he focused on producing history paintings, creating scenes from the Bible and classical mythology. Seventeenth-century academic theory reports that this was the highest form of painting because a history painter had to use their imagination when creating these works.
However, other subjects appealed more to Vermeer and later on he chose to paint everyday life scenes instead which were probably also popular at that time.
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Vermeer was a realist painter who focused on chiaroscuro and became a master in using this technique. The artist delighted in the technicalities of the camera obscura that had emerged in Dutch markets at this time and was an avid fan of using various lens and glass contraptions to discover new forms of capturing light in various contexts.
There is little information about Vermeer's personal life. He seems to have devoted his time to his work and never left his hometown of Delft. The mystery surrounding Vermeer led to Thoré Bürger naming him "The Sphinx of Delft".
Johannes Vermeer was born to Reijnier Janszoon and Digna Baltens, middle-class innkeepers and prominent silk weavers in the city of Delft. His father later changed his surname to Vermeer but the reason for this remains unknown. Vermeer's father was a member of the Guild of St. Luke where he traded and sold various paintings. It was from this profession that a young Vermeer learned all about art.
Johannes Vermeer was the only son in the family and had just one sibling. He was raised Protestant in a largely conservative Catholic province and later became part of the Guild of St. Luke. It is believed that he apprenticed under Leonart Bramer but no evidence can be sure that he had an influence on Vermeer's works.
Other art historians propose that Vermeer served under Carel Fabritius but again, evidence to prove this is lacking. Some scholars claim that Vermeer was in fact, taught by the Catholic painter Abraham Bloemaert.
In Vermeer's early career he focused on producing history paintings, creating scenes from the Bible and classical mythology. Seventeenth-century academic theory reports that this was the highest form of painting because a history painter had to use their imagination when creating these works.
However, other subjects appealed more to Vermeer and later on he chose to paint everyday life scenes instead which were probably also popular at that time.
In