Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)

Today Johannes Vermeer is one of the most celebrated Dutch painters of the seventeenth century. For centuries, however, he remained an obscure figure. His few pictures - only 35 are known - were attributedAttributionAn unsigned work of art can often identified through comparison with other works by the artist on which a signature does appear and can then be 'attributed' to that artist. An attribution to a particular artist is generally accepted, provisionally, as fact until convincing arguments are presented to show that it would have been impossible for the artist concerned to have produced the work or that another artist was the maker. to other artists. It was only in the 1870s that he was rediscovered and his works heralded as genuine Vermeers. Little is known about the artist's life. He was born in 1632, the son of a silk worker with a taste for buying and selling art. Vermeer himself was also active in the art trade. He lived and worked in Delft all his life. Not much is known about Vermeer's apprenticeship as an artist either. He may have been taught by the painter Carel Fabritius of Delft. In 1653 he enrolled at the local artists guildPainters' guildGuilds were associations of people with a common aim or profession. Guilds of painters first appeared in the Netherlands in the 13th century. They were named after their patron saint: St Luke. Craftsmen had to be members of the guild to practice their trade. They were expected to adhere to certain requirements relating to quality and price, but the guilds also had funds to protect their members against hardship, economic or social. An extensive system of apprenticeship was maintained by the guilds. Only a fully-trained master could become a member of a guild. House painters and fine-art painters alike belonged to the St Luke's guild. In the 17th century, however, the artists became increasingly hostile towards the craftsmen, or 'coarse painters'..