Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found, a revelatory biography by acclaimed art historian Andrew Graham-Dixon, persuasively addresses the two great unresolved questions about Vermeer: Why did he paint his pictures, and what do they mean?
One spring day in 1683, a notary’s clerk in Delft entered the home of the late Magdalena Pieters van Ruijven and stumbled on one of the wonders of the 17th–century world: twenty paintings by Johannes Vermeer. How had this one Dutchwoman come to possess the majority of the master’s work? And why have these images—among the most beautiful, even sublime, in the history of art—defied explanation for so long? Following new leads and drawing on freshly uncovered evidence from Dutch archives, Graham-Dixon presents a dramatic and transformative new interpretation of the artist’s life and work, one which upends Vermeer’s enigmatic reputation and depicts him instead as a pioneer of the early Enlightenment.
Andrew Graham-Dixon is one of the leading art critics in the English-speaking world. He has presented numerous landmark series on art for the BBC and other independent outlets.
6:30 PM
Enjoy a pre-event guided tour of paintings that depict carefully curated interiors. Space is limited; advance registration is recommended, and a tour ticket is required to participate. To register click here.
