The Astronomer by Johannes Vermeer Postcard

The oil on canvas painting The Astronomer by Johannes Vermeer, c. 1668, depicts a scientist working intently in his study, books open before him on his desk, his right hand turning a globe. Portraits of scientists were a popular subject in 17th century painting, and some scholars believe that the model for Vermeer’s Astronomer was Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the father of microbiology famous for groundbreaking work with microscopes. Johannes (Jan) Vermeer (1632 - 1675) was a Dutch master painter of interior genre scenes whose works were rediscovered in the 19th century. In carefully constructed, geometric compositions drawn in meticulous linear perspective, Vermeer explored the effects of light and colour across human figures, objects and textures in sunlit, domestic rooms, building upon the optical discoveries and 3D perspectival depth of Leonardo and the Renaissance. Both a painter and an art dealer, Vermeer slowly produced a few of his painstakingly executed, richly pigmented compositions per year, living entirely within his home city of Delft, eschewing the fame of his near contemporaries Rubens and Rembrandt that he achieved finally in the modern era.