Johannes Vermeer was a painter in the classic sense. I don't mean because he painted “light” in the 17^th century or because his paintings are super realist with an attention to the mundane. I mean this because when he died he left his family penniless and was a forgotten artist, erased by time, for decades to come.

He was rediscovered in the 19^th century and is now considered one of the masters of the Dutch Golden Age. Vermeer led a pretty middle class existence and in his day was regarded as a moderately successful genre painter.

His wife's family had more money than he and she went on to have 14 children. The couple moved in with Vermeer's mother in law, who owned a spacious house. Vermeer went on to paint day in and out on the front room of the second floor.

Artist David Hockney, among other historians, has speculated that Vermeer used a camera obscura to achieve this light and positioning in his compositions. This is a controversial claim but it does give new perspective on how the old masters got this level of realism.

Many people today know Vermeer not even from Hockney's assumption but from the book turned film Girl with the Pearl Earring. Yes, it was completely fictional, as far as we know there were no romantic trysts with Scarlet Johannenson-esque models.

What Vermeer has been celebrated for is his use of color. Salvador Dali was a huge fan of Vermeer's and even painted his own tributes to the artist and his palates of earthy hues punctuated with luxurious blue and yellows.

Get someone you know a Vermeer inspired painting for a gift. Anyone can appreciate artistry this good and hanging the master of lights work in a sun drenched home in the Summer is good no matter how you look at it.

View of Delft, c. 1660	The Milkmaid, c. 1658	Woman with a Water Jug, c. 1663	The Little Street, c. 1658