Johannes Vermeer: life of the week

Johannes Vermeer: life of the week

From HistoryExtra podcast by Immediate

April 27, 2026 · 42 min · Episode 2528

About this episode

This episode explores the life of Johannes Vermeer and the context of the Dutch Republic in the 17th century.

Johannes Vermeer is now regarded as one of the leading lights of the Dutch Golden Age, and indeed one of the greatest artists of all time. But in his own lifetime he was hardly known outside his own circle, and made so little money that he could barely afford to feed his large family. In this episode of the HistoryExtra podcast, Andrew Graham-Dixon, author of a new biography of Vermeer, chronicles the artist’s life – and argues that to fully understand the man and his work, we need to explore the religious milieu of the Dutch Republic in the 17th century. He was joined in conversation by Rob Attar. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Rob Attar

Guest: Andrew Graham-Dixon

Topics covered

  • Johannes Vermeer
  • Dutch Golden Age
  • art history
  • 17th century
  • religious milieu

Keywords

  • Johannes Vermeer
  • Dutch Golden Age
  • art
  • biography
  • 17th century

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Johannes Vermeer

Places: Dutch Republic

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