Jan Vermeer one of the greatest artists of Dutch Baroque Era

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Jan Vermeer

1632-1675

Dutch, Baroque Painter

One of the Greatest Painters Of All Time

Artistically and stylistically influenced by the following painters - Rembrandt, Frans Hals and Pieter de Hooch

Education - studied under Carel Fabritius

Affiliations - Guild of Saint Luke in Delft

Religious Affiliation - Dutch Reformed Church, he later converted Catholicism

Cause of Death - unknown

About the Artist

In the northern Dutch Baroque artistic era, commissions from the Church were almost nonexistent. Prosperous merchants, bankers and factory owners purchased painting through commercial galleries. They also commissioned painters directly. Vermeer's magnificent paintings, although very much appreciated today, were hardly noticed during his lifetime. After he passed away at just 43, his wife and children were forced to sell off all of his work to pay off debts.

Vermeer was a master at capturing the moods of his subjects, from his atmospheric effects, the glory of his light, the sumptuous warmth of his domestic interior scenes, and the inexplicable sensuality of so many of his works in every genre. Vermeer is best known for the portrait of his maid, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. His luminous colors even now shine with surprising glow after so many centuries, and his draftsmanship inspires admiration.

Principle Artists Associated With The Dutch Golden Age
Jan Vermeer
Hendrik Goltzius
Frans Hals
Jan Davidsz. de Heem,
Meindert Hobbema
Henricus Hondius,
Gerrit van Honthorst
Pieter de Hooch
Gaspar Netscher
Rembrandt van Rijn
Abraham Storck

Key Descriptive Words and Phrases associated with Dutch Baroque Painting - 17th Century, Holland, Dutch Golden Age, shallow space, prosperity, social solidarity, rise of the merchant class, international commerce, Protestant, commercial art galleries, Protestantism, naturalistic details, trompe l’oeil, shallow theatrical space, wealthy patrons, tenebrism, loose style, genre paintings publication of Della Pittura, a book about the laws of mathematical perspective for artists, realistic use of colors and light

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