The reputation of Johannes Vermeer rests upon a relatively small number of paintings,

two-thirds of which are presented in the current exhibition, the first ever

devoted exclusively to the art of this remarkable seventeenth-century Dutch master.

Many of the themes that Vermeer chose to depict are those he encountered in daily life:

a young woman absorbed in reading a letter in the corner of a sunlit room; a girl in a

feathery red hat turned toward the viewer, her lips parted and her eyes lit with expectancy;

a view of Delft, Vermeer's birthplace and home, with its tiled roofs, church spires,

and turreted gates, under an immense sky. In such images, Vermeer found and conveyed

values and emotions of lasting concern, transforming reality and reflecting upon the timeless

aspects of the human condition. Some of his paintings also have symbolic elements

with explicit allegorical connotations. Carefully constructed and rich in meaning, his pictures

have intrigued and fascinated viewers over the centuries. We hope that those who

have seen the pictures before, individually, will find their pleasure magnified by seeing

them brought together, and that newcomers to Vermeer's art will find that the exhibition

immeasurably enriches their understanding of Dutch painting.