Davison Art Center, Wesleyan University

DAC Collection Artist Information

Jan Vermeer

Dutch painter

Brief biography, in most instances from the Union List of Artist Names® Online:
Vermeer is considered one of the principal Dutch genre painters of the 17th century. His work displays an unprecedented level of mastery in its illusion of reality, and his figures with their calm, solemn air, which add a level of mystery to his paintings. A poem written in 1667, which alludes to the explosion of the Delft municipal arsenal in 1654, led to the misleading notion that Vermeer was the student of Carel Fabritius, the foremost painter of Delft who died in the same explosion. Leonard Bramer, who was also a prominent painter in Delft and friend of Vermeer's family, could also have been his teacher, although his work consists of mostly large easel paintings executed in the dark style of Carravaggio. Despite the mastery of Vermeer's work, it did not have lasting effect on other artists, as he had no known pupils.

Artist ID number in the Union List of Artist Names®: ULAN 500032927.
The ULAN link above leads to a cataloging authority record at the Getty Research Institute.

Objects related to Jan Vermeer:

Timothy Cole after Jan Vermeer Lady Weighing Pearls, 1922 Wood engraving on tissue paper
Timothy Cole after Jan Vermeer The Pearl Necklace, 1915 Wood engraving on tissue paper with corners glued down on heavyweight wove paper
Timothy Cole after Jan Vermeer Young Woman with a Water Jug, 1912 Wood engraving on heavyweight wove paper
Henry Wolf after Jan Vermeer Lady with a Lute, 1909 Wood engraving on tissue paper with four corners glued down on board
Timothy Cole after Jan Vermeer The Pearl Necklace, 1916 Wood engraving on tissue paper
http://dac-collection.wesleyan.edu/art37900 is a persistent link to this page with no user-session information.

ULAN biographical content is displayed with permission of the Getty Research Institute. Some ULAN content in some DAC artist records has been lightly edited. Content from the Getty Research Institute is © 2018 The J. Paul Getty Trust. All rights reserved.

Information here was last updated on 6/19/2018. Some is from older cataloging. Most objects acquired through 6/19/2018 are represented; cataloging is in process for some objects. We continue to add and update content. Please contact the DAC Registrar of Collections to suggest corrections with citations. Captions embedded in DAC images have basic information as of the time the digital image was made; details and updates appear on object pages.

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