A look at the life and painting techniques of Johannes Vermeer, painter of "Girl with a Pearl Earring."
By Alina Bradford
(Originally Published by Suite 101)
Johannes Vermeer or Jan Vermeer (1632-1675), best known for his painting “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” was a Dutch painter who loved to paint domestic interiors, portraits and city views. Possibly trained by Leonaert Bramer or Carel Fabritius, Vermeer was a Master in the Delft painters' guild from 1653, and was considered a very fine painter in his lifetime, though his skill was nearly forgotten until 1866 when art critic Thoré Burger published an essay attributing 66 pictures to him. It came to light that only 34 paintings were actually by Vermeer, but it still brought the painter back into the spotlight.