Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. He is considered one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age. During his lifetime, he was a moderately successful provincial genre painter, recognized in Delft and The Hague. He produced relatively few paintings, primarily earning his living as an art dealer. He was not wealthy; at his death, his wife was left in debt. 1632 – 1675; died at about 42. Alive at the same time as Isaac Newton, René Descartes, Molière, Louis XIV of France, and John Locke. Wiki link