Jan Vermeer (yahn vair-meer) is an artist about whom almost nothing was known until about a hundred years ago. He created relatively few paintings, and little was recorded about him in writing.

Vermeer was born in Delft, Holland. In Vermeer's world, artists did not reach the high social position that was enjoyed by such Italian Renaissance artists as Raphael. Dutch artists of Vermeer's time were considered craftspeople, and their financial success was in the hands of the new wealthy middle class. This group wanted artwork that showed scenes of everyday life rather than religious scenes. Paintings of this type became known as genre paintings. Because of the Dutch people's great desire for artwork—and the many paintings being produced—professionals ranging from picture framers to innkeepers became art dealers. They regulated the prices that artists could get for their works, which often was very little.

We know that Vermeer made fewer than 40 paintings, 29 of which he still owned when he died. The style of his paintings made them unique. He focused perhaps more intensely than anyone on the different surface qualities of a scene. He translated for the viewer the textures, values, and relationships between shape and space that natural light revealed. He then organized all these elements into a perfectly balanced whole.