NARRATOR: Here Vermeer presents us with an everyday moment, but in the hands of a master of the Dutch Golden Age, it remains both immediate and timeless.

ADAM EAKER: It really embodies the qualities that cemented Vermeer’s modern reputation.

NARRATOR: A few elements make it instantly recognizable as a Vermeer. Curator Adam Eaker.

ADAM EAKER: He seems to have painted almost all of his paintings in the exact same spot in his house. He was fascinated by the particular fall of light within this one room.

NARRATOR: It is hard to imagine today, but Vermeer was not well known in his lifetime. He only came to prominence in the late nineteenth century and this was the first of his works to enter an American collection. But what is it, exactly, that makes the work still so beloved?

ADAM EAKER: That's an interesting philosophical question that I often ask myself [laughs]. People find something that they crave in Vermeer, which is a quiet and a stillness that appears to be gone from contemporary life. These are paintings that can lower your blood pressure just by looking at them.

NARRATOR: We may no longer use the light of the window to bathe with a pitcher and a basin, yet this quiet, solitary moment remains eminently relatable to us today.

GAVIN FINNEY: He’s painted a definite mood, a definite feeling, which you don’t need to be an expert to get. That’s why these paintings work so well; you don’t need a degree; you don’t need to be very learned in symbolism to decode these images. You just need experience of life.

ADAM EAKER: This is a picture that embodies what is so enduringly compelling about seventeenth-century Dutch art, which is its connection to observation, to reality. They’re very humble, recognizable human tasks that are nonetheless transfigured into actions of utmost beauty and refinement.

NARRATOR: If a picture speaks a thousand words, it’s remarkable to think how many people have taken inspiration from Dutch paintings—across thousands of miles, through hundreds of years. From art and film to the written word, these paintings continue to inspire countless viewers in their own creative expression.

Our experts had much more to say on the subject of Dutch masterpieces. If you’d like to hear more, visit this exhibition’s website at metmuseum.org.