1665 Girl with a Pearl Earring
The Mauritshuis in The Hague, 2011, showing a representation of the painting at right
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Girl with a Pearl Earring is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, dated c. 1665, that has been in the collection of the Mauritshuis in The Hague since 1902.
Specular Reflections of Polished Tin
Scientific analysis directly challenges the jewel that names the painting. In 2014, Dutch astrophysicist Vincent Icke argued that the earring appears to be polished tin rather than an organic pearl. His deduction relied on physical evidence visible in the brushwork, specifically the specular reflection, the pear shape, and the large size of the ornament.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
La ronda de noche, por Rembrandt van Rijn
The Night Watch as it hung in the Trippenhuis in 1885, by August Jernberg
17th-century copy by Gerrit Lundens with lines added indicating the areas cut down from the original painting in 1715
The painting during restoration measures (Operation Night Watch), October 2019
The sculptures of The Night Watch in 3D at the Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam in 2006–2009
The Night Watch
The Night Watch is a 1642 painting by Rembrandt van Rijn and one of the most famous Dutch Golden Age paintings.
The Daylight Scene Masked by Dark Varnish
The famous title of Rembrandt's masterpiece stems from an illusion caused by centuries of grime and tinted surface treatments. For much of its history, a dense coating of dark varnish led viewers to assume the company was embarking on a nighttime patrol. The misleading name persisted even though the scene takes place during the day, and conservators only stripped away the obscuring varnish in the 1940s.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rembrandt - The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp
The corpse's navel is formed from the letter R
Rembrandt: The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Deijman (1656)
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp (The University of Edinburgh Fine Art)
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp is a 1632 oil painting on canvas by Rembrandt housed in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, Netherlands.
Tiered Pricing for Guild Portraiture
The Surgeon's Guild commissioned a formal portrait every five to ten years, awarding the prestigious assignment to Rembrandt when he was 25 years old. Rather than capturing a spontaneous academic gathering, the composition required attending doctors to pay for their inclusion. Prominent figures like Tulp paid significantly higher amounts, possibly twice as much, to secure central visual dominance in the resulting masterpiece.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Fabritius-vink
The painting prior to the 2003 restoration
heap of fruit with a squirrel and a bird
Woman in Medieval dress with two small children and a goldfinch
![A perspective box by Pieter Janssens Elinga at the Museum Bredius[d]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Elinga-perspective-bredius.jpg?utm_source=en.wikipedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
A perspective box by Pieter Janssens Elinga at the Museum Bredius[d]
Carthusian monk
The Goldfinch (painting)
The Goldfinch is a 1654 oil painting by Dutch Golden Age artist Carel Fabritius of a life-sized chained European goldfinch, housed in the Mauritshuis in The Hague.
The Thimble-Sized Bucket Trick
The Dutch title Het puttertje stems from the bird's historical role as a domestic entertainer rather than merely a colorful songbird. In seventeenth-century households, goldfinches were routinely trained to draw water from small bowls using miniature buckets attached to chains. The diminutive name directly translates to 'draw-water,' reflecting a custom popular enough to define how the species was known in Dutch society.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Johannes Vermeer - Het melkmeisje - Google Art Project
Painting detail showing the foot warmer, with tiles of Cupid and a man with a pole on either side of it; the clothes basket Vermeer removed from the painting was here. Also shown is a detail from the maid's brilliant blue apron.
Gerrit Dou, Girl Chopping Onions
A 1907 Dutch cartoon by Jan Rinke, reflecting a controversy over whether the state should purchase the painting rather than let it possibly fall into the hands of some rich American art collector. The government bought the work for the Rijksmuseum.
The Milkmaid (Vermeer)
The Milkmaid is an oil-on-canvas painting of a domestic kitchen maid by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, housed in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Culinary Thrift Behind the Careful Pour
While casual viewers assume the woman is performing a generic morning chore, she is actually executing a thrifty recipe for bread pudding. Art historian Harry Rand noted that she pours milk into a Dutch oven to cover soaking bread mixed with egg custard. Simmering the stale pieces in liquid prevents the mixture from turning into an unappetizing, dry crust during the baking process.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jan Vermeer - The Art of Painting - Google Art Project
His signature
Detail of Vermeer's Art of Painting showing the painter at his easel using a maulstick.
![Leo Belgicus by Visscher (1611)[11]](https://nwjvzop1xgplmzvt.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/wikifeed/the-art-of-painting/3-25d018d9e7.webp)
Leo Belgicus by Visscher (1611)[11]
![Allegory of Painting by Jacob Toorenvliet; Leiden Collection.[23]](https://nwjvzop1xgplmzvt.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/wikifeed/the-art-of-painting/4-bbb13ab6bd.webp)
Allegory of Painting by Jacob Toorenvliet; Leiden Collection.[23]
![A theorized double eagle on top the chandelier[24]](https://nwjvzop1xgplmzvt.public.blob.vercel-storage.com/wikifeed/the-art-of-painting/5-ab7c4989e3.jpg)
A theorized double eagle on top the chandelier[24]
The Art of Painting
The Art of Painting is a 17th-century oil on canvas painting by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, on display in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
The Demonstration Piece Kept Out of the Market
A visit in 1663 by Balthasar de Monconys caught the artist empty-handed, prompting Vermeer to paint a masterpiece to retain in his workspace. The elaborate work served as a definitive demonstration of artistic power rather than commercial inventory. Vermeer valued the composition so deeply that he refused to sell it during his lifetime, keeping it as an enduring summary of his craft.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Vermeer-view-of-delft
Modern-day photograph of the approximate location where Vermeer painted the painting.
Carel fabritius, veduta di delft con banco di venditore di strumenti musicali (Carel Fabritius, view of Delft with vendor counter of musical instruments), 1652
View of Delft Explosion of 1654 by Egbert van der Poel
Pieter Wouwerman – Gezicht op de Paardenmarkt te Delft ("View of the Paardenmarkt in Delft"), 1665
View of Delft
View of Delft is an oil painting by Johannes Vermeer, painted c. 1659–1661. The painting of the Dutch artist's hometown is among his best known.
Rearranging Towers and Missing Chimes
Vermeer took deliberate creative liberties with actual geography to construct his balanced cityscape. The artist painted the tower of the Nieuwe Kerk closer to the center rather than in its true rightward location. Furthermore, the church spire completely lacks bells because they were not installed until after the canvas was finished in 1661. This subtle manipulation shows that the depiction prioritized visual impact over strict topographical accuracy.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jan Vermeer van Delft - Brieflezend meisje bij het venster (ca. 1657-59)
Painting as seen prior to 2021 restoration.
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, completed in approximately 1657–1659 and displayed at the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden.
Shifting Attributions from Rembrandt to Hooch
In 1742, Augustus III of Poland purchased the canvas under the mistaken belief that Rembrandt painted it. The piece was later misattributed in 1826 to Pieter de Hooch. Only in 1860 did French art critic Théophile Thoré-Bürger identify the work and restore its proper attribution.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Johannes Vermeer - The Geographer - Google Art Project
Vermeer's The Astronomer has been considered a pendant to The Geographer
Faust depicted in an etching by Rembrandt (c. 1650). Faust, also a scholar, is depicted in the same pose as The Geographer, although facing in roughly the opposite direction.
Vermeer's possible model, Anthonie van Leeuwenhoek, painted two decades later by Jan Verkolje
A less-detailed image of the painting, with more accurate coloring
1720 catalog listing the work.
The Geographer
The Geographer is a 1668–1669 painting by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, now held in the collection of the Städel museum in Frankfurt, Germany.
Twin Canvases Cut from a Single Bolt
Technical analysis has uncovered an intimate material link between this painting and its recognized companion piece, The Astronomer. A 2017 study confirmed that the canvas supports for both works came from the same bolt of material. In addition to this rare physical bond, the canvas represents one of only three paintings Vermeer signed and dated.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Rembrandt Self-portrait (Kenwood)
Rembrandt. Self-Portrait at the Easel, 1660. Oil on canvas, 110.9 × 90.6 cm. Louvre. Here, too, the artist is seen at work, wearing a white cap.
Titian's Berlin self-portrait, oil on canvas (c. 1546–47). Gemäldegalerie, Berlin. Rembrandt was inspired by the suggestive brushwork of Titian's late work.[11][14]
Self-Portrait with Two Circles
Self-Portrait with Two Circles is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch artist Rembrandt, painted c. 1665–1669, one of over 40 painted self-portraits by Rembrandt.
Altering Posture to Project Monumental Defiance
X-rays reveal that Rembrandt originally positioned his body turned toward the right with his arm raised to paint on a canvas. Subsequent alterations eliminated this active working posture in favor of resting his left hand on his hip. By reducing the physical animation of the figure, the artist transformed a routine depiction of studio labor into an imposing, confrontational statement of mastery.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Jan Havicksz. Steen – Het Sint-Nicolaasfeest – Google Art Project
Detail of the painting with the youngest daughter holding her doll
Two versions exist of Jan Steen's Sinterklaasavond. The best known copy of these (now kept in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam) was made for a Catholic. The girl in the center was given a doll dressed up as a saint. In this version, apparently made for a Protestant, the girl was given a simple round piece of gingerbread. It is the Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht.
The Feast of Saint Nicholas
The Feast of Saint Nicholas is an oil-on-canvas painting created c. 1665–1668 by Dutch master Jan Steen, now in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
The Sacred Doll and Childhood Illness
The focal point of the painting is a young daughter clutching her holiday rewards. Her prized doll actually represents John the Baptist, wearing a camel hair shirt and holding a cross. Because John the Baptist serves as the patron saint of epilepsy, her tight grip may indicate that she suffers from childhood convulsions.
From Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0