简介：JanVermeer(1632-75)waslittleknownoutsideHollandeitherduringhislifetimeorformorethan200yearsafterhisdeath,yetheisnowacknowledgedtobeoneofthemostgiftedandintriguingpaintersoftheseventeenthcentury.Thisfilmlooksatthesocial,politicalandscientificcontextinwhichthismostenigmaticofpainterslived,fromthebirthofanindependentDutchsocietytotheincredibledevelopmentsinthefieldsofoptics,astronomyandgeographythatsotransformedtheseventeenthcentury.Vermeer'slifeandhisartisshroudedinmystery-heleftnopapers,nodrawings,nocluesastothemeaningorintentionofhispaintings,andhediedleavingsuchsubstantialdebtsthathiswidowwasforcedtosellallhiswork.ThisfilmexplainshisrevolutionarytechniquesandhisexploratoryprocessofpictorialcompositionwhileacademicsincludingJonathanMillerandSvetlanaAlpersdiscussthemeaningofVermeer'ssettingsandsubjects,andtheformalsimplicityandintensityoffeelingthatmakehisjewel-likepaintingssomoving.…