The colours have definately been turned up on this reproduction but it is striking.

Trivia on Original Piece

c. 1668-9. Oil on canvas. 54 x 47 cm. Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt

Interestingly, the room is alot brighter than the darkened interior of The Astronomer. He is deep in thought but the sunlight striking the side of his face is exquisite.

I'm always interested to find new facts (to me) of this painting. It is now generally agreed on that the inscription on the wall was painted in the 18th or 19th century. It may well be that the painting was completed in that year so the inscription has been copied from an accurate source though the painting could have been completed the previous year. We will probaly never know for sure.

If you look at The Astronomer at the same time you will notice that the furnishings of the study have been slightly altered. The most eye-cathing difference to me is the fact that the painting of The Finding of Moses has been replaced by a framed map of Europe. North is towards the right. We can't say for sure who created the map but it is very similar to a sea chart by Willem Blaeu, which dates from the early 17th century.

Oh to know for certainty the identity of the long-haired scholar in the two paintings! Logic would dictate it would be the patron who commissioned the work. But beyond that, who is it? The scientist Anthony van Leeuwenhoek's name pops up alot. He was appointed as adminstrator of Vermeer's estate after Catherina (his widow) went bankrupt in 1676 so there is a proven link with Vermeer though whether his relationship was more informal than that again we don't know.

There is a later portrait of Van Leeuwenhoek by the Delft painter Jan Verkolje (1650-93). This picture also shows him with a globe but are the features in this picture the same as Vermeer's ? To me, they could well be. They are of an older man, sightly fatter but they could be him. The only problem with my conjecture is that there is only 12 or 13 years between the paintings so would the change in appearance be that dramatic.

We will probaly never know.

Vermeer canvas prints @ ebay (direct link to his canvas prints)