A Vermeer visits Ireland

Johannes Vermeer, also known as Jan Vermeer van Delft, is today one of the most famous painters of all time, although he was long a great unknown in art historiography. During his lifetime, the painter, who worked extremely slowly – he probably only completed two paintings a year on average – earned a good income from his pictures, but researchers assume that Vermeer had other sources of income. After his death in 1675, the painter fell into obscurity and was only known to a few experts. It was not until the second half of the 19th century that his oeuvre was comprehensively reappraised, as a result of which many misattributions made Vermeer's catalog of works confusing. Today, his catalog of 37 paintings is generally recognized and extremely small for a painter of his stature. The juxtaposition of two of Vermeer's paintings is a special event that will take place in Dublin from May 11: Woman Writing a Letter, with her Maid (c. 1670) from the National Gallery of Ireland's own collection will be on display alongside Mistress and Maid (1666/67) from the Frick Collection in New York. The latter, which only leaves New York on rare occasions, can be seen at Vermeer Visits in Dublin until August 18. The show is curated by Dr. Lizzie Marx, curator of Dutch and Flemish art.