Johannes Vermeer

The Procuress ; c. 1656

c. 1632 - December 1675

(an abstract of the larger painting, although considered a self-portrait)

I'm not interested in biographies or in writing them, since I'm not a huge fan of history in general, normally treating what people consider "history" as lavish, glorified fictional stories of the past (because history is ultimately written by the "victors" and is not necessarily truth or factual depictions, but rather related information designed to serve a purpose); however, if you're interested in detailed biographies, I've located a few links for your perusal if desired: TotallyHistory, bio., Artble, Artsy, and Wikipedia's entry (for despite my association with academia, I respect the work done concerning this site and have often found similar information in or on other resources.)

Knowing my views on history, I must relate this interesting and scandal-ish note on his works: Johannes Vermeer is officially credited with 34 paintings; however, Theophile Thore-Burger attributed over 70 paintings to him in 1866. The difficulty in authenticating his paintings, despite the probable loss of documentation over time or the lack there of, is partially attributed to the work of Han van Meegeren, When Van Meegeren's own paintings were received as tired and derivative by critics, he felt shunned by the art world and decided to forge famous paintings and circulate them as originals to prove his talent. His most successful forgery was Supper at Emmaus, created in 1937 while living in the south of France. This painting was hailed by some of the world’s foremost art experts as the finest Vermeer they had ever seen. With van Meegeren's paintings contaminating Vermeer's collective works (van Meegeren also forged two other masters), establishing authenticity is understandable.

Below I present my favorite paintings by Johannes Vermeer (dating his paintings has proven difficult, authorities listing sections of time for each of his pieces or imprecise years, so I have chosen to admit dates):

Girl with a Pearl Earring ; c. 1665

Undoubtedly my favorite Vermeer, and quite possibly my favorite painting of all-time (although van Gogh's Starry Night challenges it repeatedly.)

Woman in Blue Reading a Letter ; c. 1663-1664

A Girl Asleep; A Maid Asleep ; c. 1656-1657

The Little Street ; c. 1657-1658

The Love Letter ; c. 1666

The Milkmaid ; c. 1658