Vermeer Prints

Discover stunning art print reproductions from the career of Johnannes Vermeer

Vermeer prints are displayed throughout this website and cover the very best paintings from the career of Baroque artist, Johannes Vermeer. The paintings included here are amongst the best within the entire period of the Dutch Golden Age which remains one of the most important movements in European art history.

Vermeer's best known painting was The Girl with a Pearl Earring which has received considerable media coverage in recent years and you can see it below, along with links to where you can buy your very own copy from a large Vermeer gallery. You can read more about Vermeer paintings here.

Girl with a Pearl Earring was produced by Vermeer in 1665 and remains regarded as a masterpiece by academics as well as one of the most important paintings from the entire Baroque period which dominated the 17th century at the time of Vermeer's exceptional career. There are currently 34 paintings which have been attributed to Johannes Vermeer and it now appears unlikely that any more genuine works will be linked to this renowned artist.

The Girl with a Pearl Earring is now on display at the Mauritshuis gallery in the Hague, Netherlands, and has been seen by many as the Northern Europe version of Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. This relatively small work measured 44.5 cm × 39 cm (17.5 in × 15 in) but many reproductions of it ordered in the modern day are made at larger sizes to suit the prominent positions in which it's placed.

Milkmaid is another classic work by Vermeer and follows a similar style to his other key paintings. It features a portrait of a Milkmaid at work and is sometimes called The Kitchen Maid. It is believed to have been painted in either 1657 or 1658 although the date is not known for sure. This period was a highly prolific period for Vermeer during which time he created most of his best oil paintings. The Milkmaid is now on show in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands and is one of it's main attractions despite the exceptionally high level of art held here.

Kitchen and Milkmaids were commonly depicted in Dutch art around this period as they held a symbolic position, commonly seen in a sexual sense by the artist who would depict them in a suggestive way which was much more subtle than might be seen today in modern times. Many maids at this time were seen as potentially devisive characters who held an important position within a family but could also offer attraction to married men who were regularly lured away from their responsibilities.

Lacemaker came after Girl with a Pearl Earring and Milkmaid as Vermeer continued his interest in the topic of women at work which was also common throughout much of Dutch art at this time. Indeed, during the time of Vermeer Netherlands was actually known as the Dutch Republic, and Vermeer was himself born in the town of Delft. The artist had a great affection for his home town and produced many excellent landscapes of it throughout his career, with several included within this website.

Lacemaker is actually the smallest painting currently attributed to artist Vermeer, measuring 24.5 cm × 21 cm (9.6 in × 8.3 in). Lacemaker is currently stored within the Louvre in Paris which has one of the finest art collections in the world. Within this work Vermeer showed a pretty accurate rendition of the craft of Lacemaking which suggests that he would have put in some considerable study before taking on this work, and may have consulted several people to ensure that the portrait was close to the original pose that he witnessed.

Astronomer came about in 1668 towards the end of Vermeer's career and currently joins the Lacemaker within the Louvre in Paris. In the 17th century scientists were considered of exceptional importance and held in very high regard. Scientists for this reason can be found portrayed in many paintings around this time, and Astronomer is just one such example.

The portrait within this painting is believed to probably be Antonie van Leeuwenhoek who was then used for the other work, The Geographer which followed a similar style. Both paintings as well as incoporating the same model also featured a near identical background setting.

Girl with a Red Hat is perhaps the best known tronie by Vermeer, which involves flamboyant clothing which in this case refers to the bright and dominating hat worn by the artist's model. It is also yet another small painting which seemed to be the popular choice for Vermeer which contrasts to most artists from traditional styles who frequently went for much larger canvases for their art.

The Girl with a Red Hat painting has changed hands on an incredible number of occasions but now resides in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. where it has been for several years. It is one of the few paintings by Vermeer that is stored outside of Europe, with most still in the now Netherlands, or across in the French Louvre museum.

Street in Delft is also commonly known as The Little Street and features the side of a building within Vermeer's hometown. The artist produced many paintings all across this town though this painting is unusual in that it centred on a specific building where as most covered the overall cityscape instead.

The Little Street features an accurate depiction of life at that time in the Dutch Republic and concentrates on relatively normal people going about their daily lives, which is common within many Vermeer paintings, though normally he would only include one person per work and add greater detail on them as a result.

Concert was sadly stolen in 1990 and has not since been recovered. The painting now holds a value estimated to be around $200m which makes it the most valuable painting to have been stolen and not recovered. The nature of the theft has attracted similar media coverage to that which Vermeer's best known painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring, has also enjoyed.

The traditional approach by Vermeer throughout his career's works makes his paintings best served by reproduction art prints rather than posters or other art mediums. Carefully selected frames to match each original work are also advised in order to give the most professional finish for anyone looking to add Vermeer art into their own homes.

Christ in the House of Martha and Mary offers an approach into religion for Vermeer which was clearly common in art around this time, but Vermeer was normally more interested in everyday life in Holland for his own paintings. Christ in the House of Martha and Mary is certainly unusually large by Vermeer's standards too, measuring 160 cm × 142 cm (63 in × 56 in). It is now stored in the National Gallery of Scotland and offers another great reason to visit Edinburgh.

Despite centering on Christ in this painting, the inclusion of the women besides him ensures that Christ in the House of Martha and Mary still fits into a similar look to Vermeer's other major works as he was always keen to depict relatively normal women at work rather than grand scenes as many other artists liked to do both during the Dutch Golden Age and also in the many others art movements which had existed within Europe before this point.

Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window again covers a traditionally dressed woman going about her daily life, as was the favourite topic of Johannes Vermeer. This work is believed to have been completed between 1657 and 1659 but there remains some doubt on it's exact date, as with many other of the Vermeer paintings. This painting was actually incorrectly attributed to several other artists before finally being recognised as a Vermeer painting in 1880.

Delft features the landscape of Vermeer's much loved home where he spent most of his life and this painting is just one of several paintings and sketches that exist from his career that cover this town from various angles and positions. Delft itself is a province of the southern part of the Netherlands and it sits between Rotterdam and The Hague.

You can see below a list of Vermeer works as at the time of writing. Several at the end are currently under dispute as to whether it was Vermeer who produced them or instead another artist from the Dutch Golden Age at about the same time.

• Christ in the House of Martha and Mary
• Diana and Her Companions
• The Procuress
• Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window
• A Girl Asleep
• A Maid Asleep
• The Little Street
• Officer with a Laughing Girl
• Officer and Laughing Girl
• The Milkmaid
• The Wine Glass
• A Lady Drinking and a Gentleman
• The Glass of Wine
• The Girl with the Wineglass
• View of Delft
• Girl Interrupted at her Music
• Woman in Blue Reading a Letter
• The Music Lesson
• Woman with a Lute
• Woman with a Pearl Necklace
• Woman with a Water Jug
• Young Woman with a Water Pitcher
• A Woman Holding a Balance
• A Lady Writing a Letter
• Girl with a Pearl Earring
• Girl In A Turban
• Head Of Girl In A Turban
• The Young Girl With Turban
• The Concert
• Portrait of a Young Woman
• Study of a Young Woman
• The Allegory of Painting
• The Art of Painting
• Mistress and Maid
• Girl with a Red Hat
• The Astronomer
• The Geographer
• The Lacemaker
• The Love Letter
• Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid
• The Allegory of Faith
• The Guitar Player
• Lady Standing at a Virginal
• Young Woman Standing at a Virginal
• Lady Seated at a Virginal
• Saint Praxedis
• Girl with a Flute
• A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals