Johannes Vermeer

Hello, my name is Johannes Vermeer. I was a painter who lived a long, long time ago, in the 1600s. I lived in a pretty town called Delft in a country called Holland. My favorite thing to do was paint. I loved mixing colors on my palette to make new ones. It was like magic. I would take my brush and create pictures of the world I saw around me.

I loved to paint quiet, everyday moments. I would paint a person pouring milk from a jug or reading a letter by a window. My special secret was painting with light. I loved to watch how sunshine glowed when it came through a window and touched everything in a room. I wanted to put that warm, happy feeling into my pictures. Around the year 1665, I painted my most famous picture. It shows a girl with a big, shiny pearl earring that catches the light just perfectly.

I painted my whole life because it made me happy. I lived to be 43 years old. Even though that was a long time ago, my paintings are still loved today. You can see them hanging in big museums where everyone can look at them. I hope that when people see the special light I captured, it makes them feel happy and calm inside.