What Happened in 1665

Johannes Vermeer Paints Girl with a Pearl Earring

The painting Girl with a Pearl Earring (Dutch: Het Meisje met de Parel) is one of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer's masterworks and as the name... Read more

Johannes Vermeer Paints Girl with a Red Hat

Aside from the expectant expression on the young woman's face, much of the vivacity of this extraordinary painting stems from the manner which it... Read more

Johannes Vermeer Paints Portrait of a Young Woman

In the 1696 sale catalogue of paintings owned by Jacob Dissius, the son-in-law of Vermeer's patron Pieter van Ruijven, "a tronie in antique dress,... Read more

Johannes Vermeer Paints The Concert

The similarities between The Concert and The Music Lesson are such that they have often been dated at the same time. Both the conception of the... Read more

The Great Plague of London

Plague was not a new disease for London in 1665. In that year it just happened that conditions meant that all was in place for an epidemic: a mild... Read more