Born in 1632, only three dozen canvases survive from his working life. A resident of the Dutch city of Delft, it is Vermeer’s subject matter that is the first point of interest in his work. Unusually, he chose to depict scenes of ordinary, everyday life. His images are calm and precise, almost mathematical in their organization, while his ability to depict the effects of light are also remarkable, though for a long time his skills were almost completely unknown. It would be two hundred years after Vermeer’s death before his status as a Dutch Master began to be fully recognized. The Great Artists also features leading authorities, art historians and scholars.