Johannes Vermeer: Art, Globalization and Technology in 17th Century Holland

A sturdy maid stands in a sparse room bathed in light. She pours milk into a bowl. Why is this painting, like others by Vermeer, considered to be among the world’s great works of art? Join art historian Joyce Beckenstein for a slide-illustrated talk about the The Milkmaid, the focus of the current exhibition of Vermeer’s works at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The talk explains how Vermeer embraced the science of optics and light to capture far-away geographic and psychological worlds without leaving the intimate interiors of his home in Delft, Holland.