On this page are listed exhibitions, conferences, multimedia events and publications of the recent past which are related to the life and/or work of Johannes Vermeer.

Click here to see Vermeer-related events of the past.

Click here to view a sortable table of all past, ongoing, and future Vermeer exhibitions.


Girl with a Flute on view again at the NGA new logo

Girl with a Flute, Johannes Vermeer
Girl with a Flute
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1665–1670
Oil on panel, 20 x 17.8 cm.
National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
After a prolonged absence, Vermeer’s Girl with a Flute is once again on display at the National Gallery of Art, West Building, Main Floor, Gallery 50-A according to the gallery website.

Following two years of research into the four paintings attributed to Vermeer in 2022, the Gallery had downgraded the work's status to "Studio of Johannes Vermeer" and removed it from public display.


Closer to Vermeer: New Research on the Painter and his Art new logo

Closer to Vermeer
Closer to Vermeer: New Research on the Painter and His Art
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam / Hannibal Books, Veurne 
ISBN 978 94 6494 199 9 
432 pages
Price: € 69,50 

 

Closer to Vermeer explores the world of Johannes Vermeer, a painter whose work continues to fascinate more than 350 years after his death. Taking the landmark 2023 Rijksmuseum exhibition as a point of departure, this volume brings together new art-historical and technical research by leading international experts. How did Vermeer translate his creative ideas into paint? Did the seventeenth-century Dutch master truly rely on optical devices? What do the carefully rendered objects in his interiors reveal about the artist himself? And how has the perception of his small but extraordinary oeuvre evolved over time?

Using the latest imaging techniques, researchers scrutinize Vermeer’s masterpieces, yielding compelling new insights into his artistic process, material choices, and technical virtuosity. These investigations contribute to a deeper understanding of Vermeer’s painting technique throughout his career. Other specialists revisit seventeenth-century sources, uncover new archival documents, and explore Vermeer’s patrons and the material world he portrayed. The objects depicted in his interiors—maps, pearls, porcelain, kitchenware—are examined not merely as visual motifs, but as clues to his worldview and working methods.

At once scholarly and accessible, Closer to Vermeer offers a fresh, intimate perspective on one of the most enigmatic and beloved painters—a vital resource and enduring reference for specialists and art lovers alike.

Closer to Vermeer: New Research on the Painter and His Art

By literally opening the door, Vermeer makes the scene accessible to the viewer. These and the many other new discoveries in the book paint a picture of a dedicated artist constantly striving to perfect his paintings.

The research was conducted by scientists, conservators, and curators from institutions including the Rijksmuseum, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, The Frick Collection and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, and the University of Antwerp.

New insights

Earlier in this same study, it was discovered that in The Milkmaid, Vermeer had initially included a jug holder and a fire basket, but later painted them out. Using the latest research techniques, we now know that 30 of the 37 paintings attributed to Vermeer show changes, ranging from subtle corrections to radical alterations in composition and meaning. These findings offer new insights into Vermeer’s working methods, use of materials, and painting technique.

New archival discoveries

Thanks to research by various art historians, new sources and archival documents have surfaced, offering fresh insights into Vermeer’s personal life, his patrons, and the objects he depicted.

Collaboration
The research was conducted by scientists, conservators, and curators from institutions including the Rijksmuseum, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, The Frick Collection and The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the National Gallery in London, and the University of Antwerp.

A brief overview:

  • In Diana and her Nymphs (Mauritshuis, The Hague), Vermeer originally painted an ornate quiver with arrows lying on the rock to the left of the goddess Diana. This quiver bears striking similarities in design and colour to the one at Cupid’s feet in Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden), which Vermeer painted a few years later.
  • The wide brim of the black hat worn by the officer in Officer and Laughing Girl (The Frick Collection, New York) was originally adorned by Vermeer with several lavish, colorful feathers.
  • The open book — and even the exact page — in Allegory of the Faith (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) has now been identified as The Life of Hugo in Generale Legende der Heyligen met het leven Iesu Christi ende Marie by Pedro de Ribadeneira and Heribert Rosweyde (third edition, 1640).
  • Research into Vermeer’s use of blue and green pigments shows that his application of these colours changed over the course of his career. This suggests revisiting the chronology of some of his works.
  • A newly discovered document bearing Vermeer’s signature proves that he actively acted as a representative for his in-laws, the Thins-Bolnes family, managing their lands in Oud-Beijerland.
  • Two newly discovered documents point to Maria de Knuijt, rather than to her husband, as Vermeer’s principal patron, who actively supported his work.

These and many other new discoveries and insights have been brought together in the book Closer to Vermeer: New Research on the Painter and His Art, which is available now.

Contents

  • Taco Dibbits
    "The Oeuvre of Johannes Vermeer
  • Note from the Editors
  • Foreword
  • Pieter Roelofs
    Closer to Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum: The 2023 Retrospective Exhibition in Amsterdam
  • Anna Krekeler, Francesca Gabrieli, Annelies van Loon and Ige Verslype
    Compositions in the Making: Vermeer’s Changes
  • Ige Verslype
    Vermeer’s Canvases: Weave Maps and Matches in a Wider Perspective
  • Paul J.C. van Laar
    Illuminating the Obscure: The Relationship between Vermeer’s Works and Seventeenth-Century Optical Developments
  • David G. Stork
    Did Vermeer Use Optics? New Insights from Computer-Assisted Connoisseurship
  • Maria de Knuijt and Judith Noorman
    Women’s Vermeers: Maria de Knuijt and New Archival Documentation on Vermeer’s Primary Patron
  • Helen Howard, Matteo Borri, Melchior Di Crescenzo, David Peggie, Rachel Billinge, Catherine Higgitt and Marika Spring
    Young Woman Seated at a Virginal and Young Woman Standing at a Virginal: A New Technical Study of Two of Vermeer’s Late Masterpieces
  • Dorothy Mahon, Silvia A. Centeno and Federico Carò
    A Maid Asleep and Study of a Young Woman: New Discoveries from Imaging and Chemical Analyses
  • Kathryn A. Dooley, John K. Delaney, E. Melanie Gifford, Dina Anchin, Lisha D. Glinsman, Alexandra Libby and Marjorie E. Wieseman
    The Man Beneath Vermeer’s Girl with the Red Hat: Improved Visualization Using Chemical Imaging
  • Paul Taylor
    Vermeer’s Art of Painting: Catharina Bolnes’s ‘Schilderconst’ and the Viennese Schilderkamer
  • Elke Oberthaler, Frederik Vrameert, Katharina Uhlir, Steven De Meyer and Koen Janssens
    Tracing the Effects of Ageing in Johannes Vermeer’s The Art of Painting: A Closer Look at Palmette
  • Annelies van Loon, Francesca Gabrieli, Anna Krekeler, Ige Verslype and Frederik Vrameert
    From Palette to Perfection: Vermeer’s Distinctive Use of Blue and Green Pigments
  • Frederik Vrameert, Maartje Stols-Witlox, Annelies van Loon and Koen Janssens
    Vermeer’s White(s): Seventeenth-Century Methods Used to Manipulate the Working Properties of Lead White
  • Paolo D'Imporzano and Gareth R. Davies
    Lead Isotope Studies of Vermeer’s Paintings: Myths and Realities
  • Aimee Ng
    Vermeer’s Pearls: Considering the Place of Pearls in the Artist’s World and Imagination
  • Christian An
    Object Matters: Vermeer, Material Culture and Adaptations of Asian Porcelain
  • Alexandra van Dongen
    The Tangible World of Johannes Vermeer: Domestic Artefacts as Artists’ Props
  • Rozemarijn J.W. Landsman
    The Highlights of Vermeer’s Maps
  • Evelyne Verheggen
    Painted Devotion to Saints in Vermeer’s Allegory of the Catholic Faith
  • Esther van Duijn, Sabrina Meloni, Carol Pottasch and Ige Verslype
    Retouching and Overpainting Vermeer: A Historical Perspective
  • Justine Rinnooy Kan, Daphne Martens, Quentin Buvelot and Ariane van Suchtelen
    Vermeer in the Spotlight: The Exhibitions of 1935, 1966 and 1995–1996
  • Abbie Vandivere
    Who’s that Girl? Girl with a Pearl Earring in 1665, and her Current Appearance in 3D
  • Jonathan Janson
    Essential Vermeer

Revisiting Vermeer’s Delft residence—A response to Hans Slager

"A Brief Reply to Hans Slager on the Issue of Vermeer's Residence" by Frans Grijzenhout
https://www.essentialvermeer.com/misc/finding-vermeer-reply-to-slager-final.html

In his new article, "A Brief Reply to Hans Slager on the Issue of Vermeer's Residence," Frans Grijzenhout respond to Hans Slager’s rejection of his earlier argument regarding the Delft residence of Johannes Vermeer and his family. Contrary to Slager’s claim that the family lived in the smaller Trapmolen house on the western corner of Oude Langendijk and Molenpoort, Grijzenhout maintain—based on primary documentation—that they resided in the more spacious Groot Serpent on the eastern corner. This conclusion draws heavily on the only known tax register to mention Maria Thins, Vermeer’s mother-in-law, and her neighbors, placing her among the wealthiest citizens of Delft in 1674.

Grijzenhout addresses Slager's doubts about the sequential nature of this register and demonstrate that his key objection—centered on the residency of one Jannetge Stevens—is unsupported by archival evidence. Detailed analysis of property transactions and estate inventories shows that Stevens did not own or occupy the relevant properties until well after 1674. The register’s structure thus remains reliable for establishing residential order, supporting my original claim.

While the precise location of Vermeer’s home might seem trivial compared to broader historical questions, it has important implications for understanding his social context and the domestic settings so central to his art. Grijzenhout concludes by reaffirming his earlier findings and briefly countering Slager’s reinterpretation of the location of the Jesuit church east of Molenpoort, a topic not directly related to Vermeer but touched upon in his critique.


Vermeer-related temporary exhibiton in Marseille new logo

Lire le ciel. Sous les étoiles en Méditerranée (Reading the Sky: Under the Stars in the Mediterranean)
July 9, 2025– January 5, 2026
Mucem in Marseille (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur)
https://www.mucem.org/programme/exposition-et-temps-forts/lire-le-ciel

from the museum website:
The exhibition Reading the Sky explores how the night sky has been perceived in the Mediterranean region, as seen from Earth. From the earliest records of the ancient Mesopotamian heavens to the popularity of contemporary astrology—passing through medieval Arab-Muslim astronomy and the Galilean revolution—Mediterranean societies have looked to the stars to understand their place in the cosmos and to organize life on Earth. Knowledge and belief circulated across the region, establishing a shared cultural understanding of the sky that still informs how we think about the stars today.

Among the 150 works on display will be Vermeer's masterwork, The Astronomer. It will be on display during the first three months of the exhibition, until October 7th, together with The Astronomer by Luca Giordano (from Musée de Chambéry).

The Astronomer, Johannes Vermeer
The Astronomer
1668
Oil on canvas
50 x 45 cm. (19 5/8 x 17 3/4 in.)
Musée du Louvre, Paris
The Astronomer, Luca Giordano
The Astronomer
Luca Giordano
1655
Oil on canvas, Musée de Chambéry, Chambéry

Through a dialogue between art and science, the exhibition seeks to question our present-day connection to the starry sky. Since Antiquity, observing the regularity of celestial bodies has allowed humans to structure daily life, such as navigating across land and sea or establishing calendars. Celestial phenomena were also seen as signs influencing everyday life: the phases of the Moon, the passage of comets, the movements of planets through constellations, and so on. This link between macrocosm and microcosm played a role in the governance of states and the interpretation of individual behavior, with astronomy and astrology long functioning in tandem.

Discussion on the Reform of the Calendar under Pope Gregory XIII (1502–1585) to Replace the Julian Calendar (detail), Rome, October 15, 1582.
Discussion on the Reform of the Calendar under Pope Gregory XIII (1502–1585) to Replace the Julian Calendar (detail), Rome, October 15, 1582
Oil on panel
©Archivio di Stato, Siena, Italy, photo by Luca Betti

Although modern astronomy has challenged many of these beliefs, popular culture continues to maintain a deep connection with the stars, viewing the sky as a canvas for projecting fundamental human questions. Today, even as the stars are fading under urban light pollution, we still search for constellations, gaze at the beauty of the night sky, and reflect on our relationship with the environment.

Reading the Sky presents exceptional works of art and everyday objects that bear witness to this history, shown alongside contemporary artworks that respond to them. In keeping with the Mucem’s transdisciplinary approach, the exhibition blends archaeological, scientific, and ethnographic objects with works of art, manuscripts, and oral heritage. It includes more than one hundred works from Mucem’s own collection and benefits from over two hundred loans from national, regional, and international institutions.

curators:
Juliette Bessette, historienne de l’art, Université de Lausanne
Enguerrand Lascols, conservateur du patrimoine, Mucem

catalogue:
https://www.laprocure.com/product/1883334/lire-le-ciel-sous-les-etoiles-de-la-mediterranee?srsltid=AfmBOorEqTXitxVdLvs60T4UhKzxHvsu6Cp6HnXBGNaZZ1n_3jd8G48G


Special Vermeer Exhibiton at the Newly Reopened Frick Collection in 2025 new logo

Vermeer’s Love Letters
June 18 –September 8, 2025
Frick Collection, New York

Special Vermeer Exhibiton at the Newly Reopened Frick Collection in 2025

The Frick Collection will reopen in April 2025 (exact date to be announced), introducing significant changes and additions to its renowned New York City mansion. Among the highlights of the reopening is a groundbreaking Vermeer exhibition, Vermeer’s Love Letters,which will bring together three notable Vermeer paintings with a letter-writing theme: Mistress and Maid (Frick Collection), The Love Letter (Rijksmuseum), and Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid (National Gallery of Ireland). This exhibition will run from June 18 to September 8, 2025, and will showcase Vermeer's intimate depictions of letter-writing within a specially-designed gallery, offering an unparalleled viewing experience, and will offer visitors an opportunity to consider Vermeer’s treatment of the theme of letters as well as his depiction of women of different social classes.

Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid, Johannes Vermeer
Mistress and Maid, Johannes Vermeer
The Love Letter, Johannes Vermeer

The exhibition is curated by Dr. Robert Fucci, a distinguished expert on Vermeer from the University of Amsterdam, who will author a catalogue focused on the three works and their broader themes in seventeenth-century Dutch art.

In addition to the Vermeer exhibition, the museum’s extensive renovations include opening the second floor of the mansion to the public for the first time. This newly accessible space will feature ten galleries, including the Boucher Room in its original setting, along with displays of recently acquired objects, clocks, and watches. Visitors can also explore a new Cabinet Gallery on the first floor, which will exhibit rare drawings and sketches by artists such as Rubens, Degas, and Goya.

This reopening underscores the Frick's dedication to both its historic legacy and the enhancement of public access to its collections, aiming to captivate both new and returning visitors with its transformed and expanded spaces.


Daily Arts Magazine:
"Vermeer’s Love Letters: Vermeer Paintings on Display in New York"
Tom Anderson
24 June 2025


Saint Praxedis: A Continuing Debate

aternatetext"
Saint Praxedis (questionable, attributed to Vermeer)
1655
Oil on canvas, 101.6 x 82.6 cm. (40 x 32 1/2 in.)
Kufu Company Inc., on long-term loan to the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo

"St Praxedis trice; Technical Examinations of St Praxedis"
Arie Wallert
https://www.essentialvermeer.com/misc/WALLERT-St-Praxedis.pdf

The painting Saint Praxedis, attributed by some scholars to Vermeer, continues to provoke heated debate. Thought to be a direct copy of an Italian work by Felice Ficherelli (1605–1669), the painting was first proposed as an early Vermeer based on a signature and date inscribed on the canvas, as well as perceived stylistic similarities to his later works. The attribution gained traction in the 1980s when curator Arthur K. Wheelock supported its inclusion in Vermeer's early oeuvre, and more recently, the painting was displayed as an authentic Vermeer in the highly anticipated Vermeer retrospective at the Rijksmuseum in 2023. However, the attribution remains fiercely contested, with some leading experts, including conservator Jørgen Wadum, rejecting the idea that Vermeer could have painted it.

Arie Wallert’s study on Saint Praxedis presents a meticulous examination of the painting’s origin, technique, and authorship, engaging with the long-standing debate over whether it can be attributed to Vermeer. The article situates Saint Praxedis within the broader context of its Italian prototype, a work by Ficherelli, and closely compares the technical features of both versions. Wallert approaches the question of attribution through material analysis, stylistic evaluation, and historical context, shedding new light on the painting’s possible relationship to Vermeer’s early career.

One of the key contributions of the study is its discussion of the materials and techniques used in Saint Praxedis. The analysis of pigments and underlayers suggests important differences between this painting and its Italian counterpart, raising the possibility that the Dutch version was produced in a different workshop environment. This evidence does not provide a definitive answer, but it strengthens the argument that the painting is not simply a copy in the traditional sense but rather a work with its own distinct material history. Wallert also engages with previous scholarship, including the arguments of Arthur K. Wheelock and Jørgen Wadum, presenting a nuanced discussion of the painting’s contested status.

The study also considers the broader implications of Saint Praxedis for our understanding of Vermeer’s early development. While the painting's dramatic composition and intense coloration differ significantly from his later domestic interiors, Wallert suggests that these characteristics do not necessarily rule out an early experiment with history painting. However, he acknowledges that the stark contrast between this work and Diana and Her Companions—often cited as Vermeer’s first known original composition—remains a major issue. The lack of preparatory drawings or related works by Vermeer in this style continues to fuel skepticism, reinforcing the uncertainty surrounding the painting's attribution.

Whether or not Saint Praxedis will ever be universally accepted as a Vermeer remains to be seen, but Wallert’s study ensures that the discussion remains as rigorous and informed as ever.


EV founder Jonathan Janson questions authenticity of Young Woman Seated at the Virginal (Leiden Collection) new logo

"Young Woman Seated at a Virginal: A Second Look"
Jonathan Janson
https://www.essentialvermeer.com/misc/Young-Woman-Seated-at-a-Virginal-A-Second-Look.pdf

A Young Woman Seated at a Virginals, Johannes Vermeer
A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals
(attributed to Johannes Vermeer)
c. 1670
Oil on canvas, 25.2 x 20 cm.
Leiden Collection, New York

Since the 2004 sale of Young Woman Seated at a Virginal at Sotheby’s, this small canvas has been accepted as an authentic painting by Vermeer almost exclusively on the basis of a decade-long technical investigation spearheaded by Sotheby’s itself. Since then, there has been only a handful of high-intensity critical analyses of this "new Vermeer." In this essay, I attempt to evaluate the picture from a fresh point of view via a side-by-side comparison with Vermeer’s later works, such as The Lacemaker, The Guitar Player, Lady Standing at a Virginal, and Lady Seated at a Virginal. These paintings—whatever their expressive merit—rank among Vermeer's most technically refined and compositionally innovative achievements, and, by comparison, I believe, expose the rudimentary design and numerous technical shortcomings of the Leiden painting that have thus far been substantively unaddressed.


The Washington D. C: National Gallery of Art Removes Vermeer's Girl with a Flute from Display

National Gallery of Art, Wasington D.C.
National Gallery of Art, Wasington D.C.

Girl with a Flute, now attributed by the National Gallery of Art (NGA) to the "studio of Johannes Vermeer" rather than to the artist himself, is currently not on display. While the NGA has provided no future date for its return to view, the gallery explains that its temporary removal is due to the challenge of creating a balanced wall display and managing the limited space available to exhibit its collection.

In light of the NGA's reclassification, the decision not to display the painting may disadvantage both visitors and scholars who wish to evaluate and enjoy the painting, as it limits opportunities to engage with this debated work, especially considering that the work was for years hung next to Vermeer's Girl with a Red Hat and Woman Holding a Balance, and in close proximity to the Lady Writing. Displaying Girl with a Flute alongside the these Vermeer paintings would offer an invaluable chance for comparison and analysis, particularly given its historical inclusion in Vermeer's oeuvre. The reasoning behind the painting’s reattribution is detailed in the online publication "Vermeer’s Studio and the Girl with a Flute: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 14:2 (Summer 2022), authored by Marjorie E. Wieseman, Alexandra Libby, E. Melanie Gifford, and Dina Anchin.

Following the NGA publication, the Rijksmuseum displayed Girl with a Flute as an authentic Vermeer in its 2023 Vermeer retrospective. Jonathan Janson, founder of Essential Vermeer, has released a YouTube video defending the painting's authenticity, critically analyzing the NGA's claims and presenting arguments in support of its attribution to Vermeer.



Vermeer-Related Exhibition

From Rembrandt to Vermeer, Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection
H’ART Museum, Amsterdam
April 9–August 24, 2025
https://www.hartmuseum.nl/en/exhibitions/rembrandt-to-vermeer/

To celebrate Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary, From Rembrandt to Vermeer showcases various aspects of daily city life in the 17th century. All seventy-five paintings on display come from The Leiden Collection, founded by Thomas S. Kaplan and Daphne Recanati Kaplan. Featuring no fewer than 18 Rembrandts and many other important Dutch pictures, the exhibition concludes with the Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, attributed to Vermeer.


Vermeer-Related Publication

John Ringling and the Greta Garbo Vermeer
Linda R. McKee and Deborah W. Walk
August 17, 2024
https://amzn.to/4a1jTQ1

John Ringling and the Greta Garbo Vermeer, Linda R. McKee and Deborah W. Walk
John Ringling and the Greta Garbo Vermeer
Linda R. McKee and Deborah W. Walk

John Ringling was one of the most prolific encyclopedic art collectors of the early twentieth century in America. Despite many purchases and acquisitions, his eponymous museum in Sarasota, Florida contained few written records of his art activities. This all changed in 1995 when The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Archives received a treasure trove of German archival documents sent to them by Julius Böhler's nephew, Florian Eitle-Böhler. There was now secure evidence that Ringling was not only a collector, he was an investor and partner, working in close consort with his dealer Julius Wilhelm Böhler (1883-1966).

This book is a case study of the life of a painting that typifies much of the unpleasant side of the business of the international art world. The story is a result of serendipity, the author in 2008 reading Jonathan Lopez's book, The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren, and discovering that Ringling himself was once the co-owner, not of a Van Meegeren, but of a well-known but poor Vermeer imitation, The Girl With the Blue Hat.


Vermeer's House: Hans Slager Rebufs Frans Grijzenhout's Rrecent Claims about the Location of Johannes Vermeer's House

Vermeer's House Again and the Jesuit Church
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/misc/SLAGER-VermeersHouseAgainandtheJesuit%20Church.pdf
October, 2024

Vermeer's House in Delft?

In his article "Vermeer's House Again and the Jesuit Church," Hans Slager critiques Frans Grijzenhout's recent claims about the location of Johannes Vermeer's house (published in "Finding Vermeer, Back to the Molenpoort") and the hidden Jesuit church in Delft. Grijzenhout relies on a 1674 taxation ledger to place Vermeer’s residence at the eastern corner of the Molenpoort, but Slager argues that this method is flawed due to the many unknowns, guesswork, and incomplete research. Instead, Slager maintains his previously reasoned likelihood that Vermeer lived on the western corner of the Molenpoort, in a house called Trapmolen. He emphasizes that there is no solid proof for Grijzenhout's theory and critiques his reliance on assumptions.

Furthermore, Grijzenhout's analysis of the Jesuit church's location on the Oude Langendijk is also challenged. Slager contends that Grijzenhout misinterprets historical documents and overlooks key archival data. Grijzenhout suggests the church was located in the second and third houses east of the Molenpoort, while Slager maintains that it was in the fourth and fifth house, supported by schematic reconstructions and archival data.

If you prefer, you can click here to view the PDF in a new tab.


A Pulldown Database of Johannes Vermeer's Artistic, Social, and Personal Interactions

https://www.essentialvermeer.com/social-diagram-cytoscape/social-encyclopedia/pulldown-vermeer-social-map.html

This interactive study is an exploration of the diverse and interconnected relationships that Johannes Vermeer maintained throughout his life with his professional, private mileau, and broader cultural setting. To illustrate these relationships, a list has been developed of individuals who may have come into contact, influenced, or been influenced by Vermeer, whether directly, or indirectly. This includes painters, clients, relatives, amateur scientists, writers, men of culture, as well as civic and religious officials.

Each entry is accompanied by an essential discourse on the individual's contributions or relevance in their respective fields, followed by their specific interactions or connections with Vermeer. The latter is indicated by an icon of Vermeer's signature.


Frans Grijzenhout Revises the Location of Vermeer's House

"Finding Vermeer"
by Frans Grijzenhout
April, 2024

Groot Serpent

Art historians, historiographers, and archive researchers have long debated the precise location where Vermeer resided with his family in a house rented by his mother-in-law, Maria Thins, in the Papenhoek (Papists’ Corner) area of Delft, where Vermeer presumably painted for most of his career. Was it the house called Groot Serpent on the eastern corner of Oude Langendijk and Molenpoort, or Trapmolen, on the western corner?

Over the past several decades, art history literature, following the archivist A.J.J.M. van Peer’s lead, has virtually without exception asserted that it was the large Groot Serpent. However, archival researcher Hans Slager has recently submitted that Vermeer and his family family actually lived in the smaller Trapmolen. This location was embraced by Pieter Roelefs in the catalogue of the Rijksmuseum Vermeer retrospective of 2023.

However, Frans Grijzenhout, art historian of the Early Modern Period, now presents an archival source that has not yet been included in the debate on the location of Vermeer's house, overturning Slager's claim. Moreover, Grijzenhout brings forward arguments to establish the exact location on Oude Langendijk of the Jesuit church, a significnat landmark for Delft's Catholic community as well as for Vermeer and his family.


Essential Vermeer goes YouTube!

My Take

After months of struggling to squash the formidable learning curve of producing video content, I've launched my latest intuitive: YouTube channel called My Take!: Vermeer’s Paintings One by One.

So why on earth did it ever come to this? Well, in the last twenty years I’ve done my very best to present the most thorough and balanced view of Vermeer’s art on the Essential Vermeer capitalizing on the immense and largely unexplored potential of the internet in regards to art historical issues. One of my top priorities has been objectivity. However, in recent years I've felt a growing need to communicate my own thoughts and feelings tempered by years of experience as a painter and ordinary person in front of extraordinary art.

The most efficient and effective means to communicate highly personalized content of this type is, I believe, via the video. It has the added advantage of allowing me to express myself with absolute freedom while maintaining the boundaries between the contents Essential Vermeer website and my videos clearly demarked.

I’ve just uploaded the first two videos: one on the Girl with a Flute, which the National Gallery of Art has officially demoted, and the other, A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals in the New York Leiden Collection.