“The Music Lesson” by Jan Vermeer van Delft, limited edition giclée reproduction

Jan Vermeer is among the most important Dutch painters of the Baroque period. The Dutch genre painter's life dates are based on his baptism on October 31, 1632, in Delft and his burial there on December 15, 1675. Since there was no formal painting school in Delft at that time, the son of a silk weaver, art dealer, and innkeeper received a craft-based training. His admission to the Delft Guild of Saint Luke in 1650 testifies to his activity as a painter. Today, only 37 paintings by him are known to exist. Thematically, he concentrated on genre painting, as his oeuvre contains only a few portraits or religious paintings. His interior scenes radiate stillness, security, and inner peace. The Delft painter achieved these effects with subtle color harmonies and sophisticated use of shadows. He was also a master of foreshortening. The genre paintings show few scenes with figures, to which a symbolic meaning is often attributed.