Huge art show questions legend of Vermeer

A new blockbuster exhibition showcasing the works of Johannes Vermeer which opened on Feb. 22 aims to smash the myth that the Dutch master was a solitary genius who worked alone at home cut off from the world.

The Louvre in Paris has gathered a third of the 17th-century painter's canvasses for the show, the most ever shown in one place since his death, where they will hang alongside nearly 60 paintings by his friends, rivals and contemporaries.

"We wanted to do away with the stereotype of Vermeer as 'the Sphinx of Delft'," said Blaise Ducos, who is in charge of the museum's vast collection of Dutch and Flemish paintings.

Despite his reputation as one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age, Vermeer was all but forgotten after his death in 1675. His reputation was only revived in the late 19th century.

With so little known about the enigmatic painter who died in poverty, it was assumed that he worked alone at his home in Delft.

All but one of his 34 known works are set within its four walls, from the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" to "The Music Lesson," giving the impression, said Ducos, that Vermeer rarely ventured out.

But "Holland at that time was like New York," Ducos said, an artistic, banking and trading powerhouse, where painters competed for the patronage of its rich merchants.

Vermeer stole and borrowed from his peers including Gerrit Dou, Gerard ter Borch, Jan Steen and Gabriel Metsu, Ducos insisted, all of whose work is featured in the show.

"Vermeer and his contemporaries constantly tried to surpass each other's work in technical prowess and aesthetic appeal," said Adriaan Waiboer, of the National Gallery of Ireland, which has also been working on the show for six years.