World culture: Painting by Jan Vermeer is being demonstrated at the exhibition in the Hermitage

August 27, 2016 at the State Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg) is opened the exhibition "Jan Vermeer. Geographer. From the Städel Museum, Frankfurt upon Maine" from the series "Masterpieces from World Museums in the Hermitage".

The exhibition presents a picture of Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675), one of the most famous and mysterious at the same time masters of the Golden Age of Dutch art. The world knows no more than thirty-five of his works, as in museums and collections in Russia there are no works by the artist. Owned to the collection the Städel painting over the centuries has changed a lot of owners and visited several European countries.

Who exactly is depicted in the painting is not known, but land map on the wall and model of the globe on a stand formed the basis for the determination of the character of this painting as a geographer. Undoubtedly, creating the "geography" of the artist does not simply mean a scientist employed by science, but put in the way of a broader philosophical sense.