La ragazza con l'orecchino di perla by Tracy Chevalier

His wife wrote, “…during the ruinous war with France he not only was unable to sell any of his art but also, to his great detriment, was left sitting with the paintings of other masters that he was dealing in. Vermeer succumbed to his increasing madness and depression and died of a heart attack in 1675. He quickly accrued a huge amount of debt, and was even caught stealing from his mother-in-law. The art scene was hit hard, and Vermeer struggled to provide for his family, which at this point consisted of his wife, her mother, and eleven children. The Dutch Republic was invaded by French, German and British armies, leading to an economic crash. While Vermeer enjoyed a privileged life, even he was not immune to “The Year of Disaster” that hit the Netherlands in 1672. He was known for using expensive materials in his artwork, such as lapis lazuli for the skirt of The Milkmaid. This provided him with a great deal of connections, and he became well-known for his paintings (although it has been noted that he probably only painted around three artworks per year).īecause the Vermeer family were quite wealthy – Vermeer inherited both the family inn and his father’s art-dealing business when his father passed – Vermeer was in the fortunate position of being able to paint for pleasure, rather than needing to paint to support his family. In 1653 Vermeer joined the Guild of Saint Luke, a trade association for painters.

Although it has been suggested that he studied under Carel Fabritius or Leonaert Bramer, it has also been theorized that Vermeer was a self-taught artist, taking influences from his father’s art connections. Not much is known about Vermeer’s early career as an artist. His father, Reyner Jansz, was an art dealer as well as a producer of caffa (a fine satin fabric).

Johannes Vermeer was born in the Dutch town of Delft in October 1632. Who was the girl with a pearl earring and what makes this painting so extraordinary? Known as the “ Mona Lisa of the North”, the enigmatic subject of the painting has been debated for hundreds of years. Johannes Vermeer’s enigmatic, mysterious Girl With a Pearl Earring has captivated viewers since its creation in 1655.

La ragazza con l'orecchino di perla by Tracy Chevalier