Vermeer : the man of mystery

Whether or not you've heard the name Vermeer, you have probably seen this painting: Girl with a Pearl Earring. It is often called the “Mona Lisa of the North.”This seemingly simple portrait has the power to seize the viewer's attention instantly, leaving an impression that is almost impossible to forget. That a painting created over three hundred years ago can still move modern viewers is, in itself, a kind of magic—and Vermeer is the magician behind it. But who exactly was Vermeer? That is an extremely difficult question to answer. Most great artists leave behind not only a large body of work, but also traces of their lives. Vermeer, however, seems to have left behind only his paintings. In that sense, he is almost a man of mystery. Even more astonishing is the fact that he produced only about thirty-five works in his lifetime.To put that into perspective: Rembrandt created more than 600 oil paintings, over 2,000 drawings, and around 300 prints—over a hundred of them self-portraits alone. And as for Vincent van Gogh, who lived only 37 years—less than ten of which were spent painting—he still managed to produce nearly 2,000 works.