VERMEER, Johannes
(b. 1632, Delft, d. 1675, Delft)

The Astronomer (detail)

c. 1668
Oil on canvas
Musée du Louvre, Paris

It has proved possible to identify the book that lies open in front of this mystically-clad astronomer. It is by Adriaen Metius and is called The Exploration and Observation of the Stars. The globe was made by Jodocus Hondius.