Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
PainterKnown for:
Girl with a Pearl Earring (c.1665); Dutch domestic interior painting
Education:
Completed six-year guild apprenticeship; registered in Delft Guild of Saint Luke (1653)
Johannes Vermeer produced approximately 37 paintings, almost all of them depicting domestic interiors in Delft flooded with cool, north-facing light from a single window. Working slowly - he may have produced only two or three paintings a year - he achieved an optical precision in representing the behavior of light on surfaces that no contemporary could match and that subsequent painters have cited as a primary reference. Girl with a Pearl Earring (c.1665) and The Milkmaid (c.1657–58) are among the most visited paintings in Dutch museums.
Johannes Vermeer's Gear List(2)
Generic
Connection Source
EssentialvermeerWebsite
Connection note
Used approximately 20 pigments in linseed, walnut, and poppy oil on linen canvas; natural ultramarine from lapis lazuli was his signature blue
Product description
Oil paint — pigment suspended in a drying oil, typically linseed — has been the dominant painting medium since the fifteenth century. It dries slowly, allowing extended blending, and produces a rich, luminous surface. Available from dozens of manufacturers at student through professional grades.
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Last updated March 20, 2026
