Vermeer and the Delft School

Vibrant Dutch painting

Seventeenth-century Delft has traditionally been viewed as a quaint town whose artists painted scenes of domestic life. This important book revises that image, showing that the small but vibrant Dutch city produced fine examples of all the major arts, including luxury goods and sophisticated paintings for the court at The Hague and for patrician collectors in Delft itself.
Relatively little is known about Johannes Vermeer's life. The only sources of information are some registers, a few official documents and comments by other artists.

History and culture of Delft

The book traces the history and culture of Delft from the 1200s through the lifetime of the city's most renowned painter, Johannes Vermeer.

Life of the Dutch masterpainter

Johannes Vermeer or Jan Vermeer was born in 1632, in the city of Delft in the Netherlands. Despite the fact that he came from a Protestant family, he married a Catholic, named Catherina Bolnes, in April 1653. Vermeer was apprenticed as a painter, but it is not certain where he studied, nor with whom. It is generally believed that he studied in Delft and that his teacher was either Carel Fabritius or Leonaert Bramer. In December 1653, Johannes Vermeer became a member of the Saint Luke's Guild, which was a trade association for painters.
In Delft Johannes Vermeer had been a respected artist, but he was almost unknown outside his home town, and the fact that a local patron, van Ruijven, purchased much of his output reduced the possibility of his fame spreading.
Johannes Vermeer died December 15, 1675.

Major paintings

In Vermeer and the Delft School by Walter Liedtke, the authors discuss at length some ninety major paintings -seventeen by Johannes Vermeer- , forty drawings, and a choice selection of decorative arts, all of which are reproduced in full color. Among the paintings are state portraits, history pictures, still lifes, views of palaces and church interiors, illusionistic murals, and refined genre pictures by Johannes Vermeer and Pieter de Hooch. The rich works on paper encompass exquisite drawings by Delft artists and sketches of the town by visiting artists. Included in the decorative arts are tapestries, bronze statuary, silver, Delftware, and glass. The volume concludes with an essay that takes the reader on a walk through seventeenth-century Delft. It is accompanied by maps of the city's neighborhoods that indicate major monuments and the homes of patrons, art dealers, and painters.

Vermeer and the Delft School

Vermeer and the Delft School by Walter Liedtke
Publisher: Yale Univ Pr
ISBN: 0300088485

More information

Arts Main Page
Vermeer: A View of Delft by Anthony Bailey