Johannes Vermeer

Paper Summary:

Johannes Vermeer, who died in 1675 in his native city of Delft at the age of 42, created a small body of what are now considered to be almost perfect works. A master of composition and in the use of space, he was also one of the most skilled of the Dutch painters of his era in the use of light, producing mostly precise interior scenes of geometrically perfect composition that evoke a world of tranquillity and deep restfulness.

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"Johannes Vermeer, who died in 1675 in his native city of Delft at the age of 42, created a small body of what are now considered to be almost perfect works. A master of composition and in the use of space, he was also one of the most skilled of the Dutch painters of his era in the use of light, producing mostly precise interior scenes of geometrically perfect composition that evoke a world of tranquillity and deep restfulness.

Given his exalted reputation in the late 20th century, it is a little hard to believe that the painter's works lay in obscurity for decades, not receiving significant attention after his death until the mid-19th century. The intimate scale of his paintings that is now revered was for a substantial period of time a liability. For example Gowing (1970) writes that "nowhere else ..."

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