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VERMEER
Peers of Vermeer
Although Vermeer did not live to fully enjoy the fame and renown that he achieved centuries after his death, he was nonetheless quite popular within his community in Delft and surrounding areas. Here's what a few of his peers had to say about his art.
Pieter Teding van Berckhout, a prominent family member in The Hague, mentioned Vermeer several times in his diary after meeting with him and viewing his work. In 1669, he noted him as "un celebre peijntre" (a famous painter), and stated that Vermeer "me monstra quelques eschantillons de son art dont la partie la plus extraordinaijre et la plus curieuse consiste dans la perspective" (showed me some examlples of his art, the most extraordinary and most curious aspect of which consists in the perspective).
However, Vermeer's unique genre paintings were unusual for Dutch art of the seventeenth century, as painter Van Hoogstraten illustrates, "the highest and most distinguished level in the Art of Painting, which is above all others, is the representation of the most memorable histories".
The Glass of Wine, c. 1658-60, oil on canvas. Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz,
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/glass_of_wine.html#.VEi-m1Zn-lI