Vermeer was born and baptised as a Protestant. Due to his marriage to the Catharina Bolnes, a Catholic woman of high society, Vermeer converted to the Catholic faith. Vermeer started as a history...Show moreVermeer was born and baptised as a Protestant. Due to his marriage to the Catharina Bolnes, a Catholic woman of high society, Vermeer converted to the Catholic faith. Vermeer started as a history painter. Among his first known works are large paintings with religious (Catholic) subject matter. Later, he mainly painted small genre pieces. One of his last works, however, is Allegory of the Catholic Faith, an enormous painting. In this thesis it is argued that the change in painted subject matter is a result of Vermeers conversion to Catholicism. His religious paintings are most probably commissioned. Since the Protestant faith was the State religion in the 17th century Netherlands and the Catholic faith was officially prohibited, the market for paintings with Catholic subject matter was very limited: eligible clients were either hidden churches, or rich Catholic civilians. Economic motives - Vermeer had a large family to maintain - may have urged him to tap into a new market. Genre paintings were popular at the time. The small format of Vermeer's genre paintings involved less costs. Unknown is whether these genre paintings were commissioned. It is assumed that his genre paintings were sold immediately after, of even before, they were finished. Half of Vermeer's paintings were bought by his patrons, the Protestant couple Van Ruijven-De Knuijt from Delft. No relation is apparent between Vermeer's shift to (mainly) genre painting and his stilistic development. Vermeer's fame is mainly due to his non-religious later work, especially his genre pieces.Show less
