Summary

The painter Johannes Vermeer comes to Pieter Claesz van Ruijven’s house to ask for an advance on his upcoming paintings. Pieter is his patron, and owns a number of Vermeer’s works. While waiting for his patron, Vermeer visits with his old paintings, and experiences the visions that led him to paint each of them. He thinks about how much he would like peace and quiet for painting, and how “any abrupt noise could make him take a stroke at the wrong angle: then the light wouldn’t fall correctly on the grooves left by the brush’s hairs.” (p. 200). Pieter arrives, and tells Vermeer to paint. “Just pick one of those daughters of yours, set her down, and paint.” (p. 202). Pieter and Vermeer talk about business and how things are going, and Pieter urges Vermeer to sit one of his daughters down and just...