<p>Twenty eight paintings by Johannes Vermeer go on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam this week, the largest ever exhibition of works of the 17th-century Dutch master, known for his expertise at rendering light and intimate household scenes.</p>.<p>The show gathers half the works that Vermeer, who died aged 43 and worked slowly, is thought ever to have painted and three-quarters of those that still exist. He likely never saw so many of his own works together at one time.</p>.<p>Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits said Vermeer was a man who lived with a large family and had a busy life as an art dealer, but still managed to obsessively refine works of quiet beauty, bathed in light rendered with almost photographic accuracy.</p>.<p>"It's this ... complete focus and tranquillity in his paintings that we still love today," Dibbits said.</p>.<p>Alongside famed works like "Girl With A Pearl Earring" (1664) and "The Milkmaid" (1659), the exhibit features Vermeer's two known outdoor paintings, several large canvases, and a string of his portrayals of women -- including playing instruments, reading and working.</p>.<p>"What's quite striking when you look at Vermeer is that in his paintings, it's mostly women who are the protagonists," said curator Pieter Roelofs, noting Vermeer had seven daughters.</p>.<p>Though no letter written by Vermeer exists, a key document is an inventory of possessions drawn up after his death, which left the family in debt. Furniture and many objects mentioned on the list appear in the paintings.</p>.<p>Roelofs said major advances have been made in understanding how Vermeer worked, including identifying pinholes at the focal point in some paintings such as "The Milkmaid", part of a system of strings he used to help ensure perfect perspective.</p>.<p>Artists and scholars dispute whether Vermeer may have made use of a 'camera obscura', a forerunner of the modern photocamera.</p>.<p>Roelofs said Vermeer's works are more than something a good eye and skilled hand can create. Recent analysis shows the composition of "The Milkmaid" changed several times, notably by stripping things out to simplify it.</p>.<p>"That is what Vermeer is: it's never good enough and he keeps working on it until he thinks its sufficient to hand over to clients," Roelofs said.</p>.<p>Author Tracy Chevalier, whose novel "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was adapted to a movie of the same name, said for her the exhibition evoked an image of Vermeer as a reserved man who "plays his cards close to his chest."</p>.<p>"His paintings are so quiet and there are no children ... he must have compartmentalized his life and said 'no, no kids in the studio'."</p>.<p>Museums in Germany, France, Japan, Britain, Ireland and the United States contributed to the exhibition, which opens on Friday and runs until June.</p>
<p>Twenty eight paintings by Johannes Vermeer go on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam this week, the largest ever exhibition of works of the 17th-century Dutch master, known for his expertise at rendering light and intimate household scenes.</p>.<p>The show gathers half the works that Vermeer, who died aged 43 and worked slowly, is thought ever to have painted and three-quarters of those that still exist. He likely never saw so many of his own works together at one time.</p>.<p>Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits said Vermeer was a man who lived with a large family and had a busy life as an art dealer, but still managed to obsessively refine works of quiet beauty, bathed in light rendered with almost photographic accuracy.</p>.<p>"It's this ... complete focus and tranquillity in his paintings that we still love today," Dibbits said.</p>.<p>Alongside famed works like "Girl With A Pearl Earring" (1664) and "The Milkmaid" (1659), the exhibit features Vermeer's two known outdoor paintings, several large canvases, and a string of his portrayals of women -- including playing instruments, reading and working.</p>.<p>"What's quite striking when you look at Vermeer is that in his paintings, it's mostly women who are the protagonists," said curator Pieter Roelofs, noting Vermeer had seven daughters.</p>.<p>Though no letter written by Vermeer exists, a key document is an inventory of possessions drawn up after his death, which left the family in debt. Furniture and many objects mentioned on the list appear in the paintings.</p>.<p>Roelofs said major advances have been made in understanding how Vermeer worked, including identifying pinholes at the focal point in some paintings such as "The Milkmaid", part of a system of strings he used to help ensure perfect perspective.</p>.<p>Artists and scholars dispute whether Vermeer may have made use of a 'camera obscura', a forerunner of the modern photocamera.</p>.<p>Roelofs said Vermeer's works are more than something a good eye and skilled hand can create. Recent analysis shows the composition of "The Milkmaid" changed several times, notably by stripping things out to simplify it.</p>.<p>"That is what Vermeer is: it's never good enough and he keeps working on it until he thinks its sufficient to hand over to clients," Roelofs said.</p>.<p>Author Tracy Chevalier, whose novel "Girl with a Pearl Earring" was adapted to a movie of the same name, said for her the exhibition evoked an image of Vermeer as a reserved man who "plays his cards close to his chest."</p>.<p>"His paintings are so quiet and there are no children ... he must have compartmentalized his life and said 'no, no kids in the studio'."</p>.<p>Museums in Germany, France, Japan, Britain, Ireland and the United States contributed to the exhibition, which opens on Friday and runs until June.</p>