Johannes Vermeer | View of Houses in Delft, 1658

View of Houses in Delft / Het Straatje, known as 'The Little Street' is an unusual painting in Vermeer’s oeuvre, and remarkable for its time as a portrait of ordinary houses.

The composition is as exciting as it is balanced.

The old walls with their bricks, whitewash, and cracks are almost tangible.

The location is Vlamingstraat 40-42 in Delft.

Vermeer’s aunt Ariaentgen Claes lived in the house at the right, with her children, from around 1645 until her death in 1670. | Source: © Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Abraham Mignon | Baroque still-life painter

From National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.:

The son of shopkeepers, Abraham Mignon (1640-1679) was born in Frankfurt and baptized in the Calvinist church on June 21, 1640.

When his parents moved to Wetzlar in 1649, Mignon was placed under the care and artistic apprenticeship of Jacob Marrel (1614-1681), a still-life painter and art dealer.

Marrell was undoubtedly impressed with Mignon’s abilities, for he entrusted his affairs to him whenever he was away in Holland on business.

Furthermore, Marrell asked Mignon to instruct his stepdaughter, Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), in still-life painting.

By 1664 Marrell and Mignon had left Frankfurt for Utrecht, and in 1669 both were registered in the Saint Luke’s Guild there.

Gerrit Dou (1613-1675)

As the son of a glass engraver, Gerrit Dou began by learning to engrave and paint glass.

In 1628, he was apprenticed to Rembrandt.

Here Dou learned the art of chiaroscuro, the contrast of light and shade which became his speciality: his candlelit scenes became all the rage.

Dou’s genre paintings also sold for high prices.