Editing Johannes Vermeer (section)

===Marriage and family===
In April 1653, Johannes Reijniersz Vermeer married a [[Roman Catholic Church|Catholic]] woman, [[Catharina Bolnes]] (Bolenes).<ref name="Liedtke_359"/> The blessing took place in the quiet nearby village of [[Schipluiden]].<ref name="Schneider-2000">{{Cite book |author-last=Schneider |author-first=Norbert |title=Vermeer: The Complete Paintings |publisher=Taschen |date=2000 |pages=8, 13}}</ref> Vermeer's new mother-in-law, [[Maria Thins]], was initially opposed to the marriage as she was significantly wealthier than he, and it was probably she who insisted that Vermeer convert to Catholicism before the marriage on 5 April.{{efn|Catholicism was not a forbidden religion, but tolerated in the [[Dutch Republic]]. They were not allowed to build new churches, so services were held in hidden churches (so-called [[Schuilkerk]]). Catholics were restrained in their careers, unable to get high-rank jobs in city administration or civic guard. It was impossible to be elected as a member of the city council; therefore, the Catholics were not represented in the provincial and national assembly.}} The fact that Vermeer's father was in considerable debt also did not help in discussions on the marriage. [[Leonaert Bramer]], who was Catholic himself, put in a good word for Vermeer and it was this that led Maria to drop her oppositions.<ref name="Schneider-2000"/> According to art historian [[Walter Liedtke]], Vermeer's conversion seems to have been made with conviction.<ref name="Liedtke_359">{{cite book |author-last1=Liedtke |author-first1=Walter |author-last2=Plomp |author-first2=Michiel C. |author-last3=Rüger |author-first3=Axel |author-link1=Walter Liedtke |title=Vermeer and the Delft school: [catalogue ... in conjunction with the exhibition "Vermeer and the Delft School" held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, from 8 March to 27 May 2001, and at The National Gallery, London, from 20 June to 16 September 2001] |url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_EZxWaNlQKiYC|date=2001|publisher=Yale University Press |location=New Haven |isbn=0-87099-973-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_EZxWaNlQKiYC/page/n373 359]}}</ref> His painting ''[[The Allegory of Faith]]'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/32.100.18 |title=Johannes Vermeer: Allegory of the Catholic Faith (32.100.18) |work=The Met |publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |date=20 July 2012 |access-date=24 July 2012}}</ref> made between 1670 and 1672, placed less emphasis on the artists' usual naturalistic concerns and more on symbolic religious applications, including the sacrament of the [[Eucharist]]. Walter Liedtke, in ''Dutch Paintings in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'', suggests that it was made for a learned and devout Catholic patron, perhaps for his ''[[schuilkerk]]'', or "hidden church".{{Sfn|Liedtke|2007|p=893}} At some point, the couple moved in with Catharina's mother, who lived in a rather spacious house at Oude Langendijk, almost next to a hidden [[Jesuit]] church.{{efn|A Roman Catholic chapel now exists at this spot.}} There Vermeer lived for the rest of his life, producing paintings in the front room on the second floor. His wife gave birth to 15 children, four of whom were buried before being baptized but were registered as "child of Johan Vermeer".{{Sfn|Montias|1991|pp=344–345}} The names of 10 of Vermeer's children are known from wills written by relatives: Maertge, Elisabeth, Cornelia, Aleydis, Beatrix, Johannes, Gertruyd, Franciscus, Catharina, and Ignatius.{{Sfn|Montias|1991|pp=370–371}} Most of these names are those of [[saint]]s; the youngest (Ignatius) was likely named after the [[Ignatius of Loyola]].{{efn|The parish registers of the Delft Catholic church do not exist anymore, so it is impossible to prove but likely that his children were baptized in a hidden church.}}{{efn|The number of children seems inconsistent, but 11 was stated by his widow in a document to get help from the city council. One child died after this document was written.}}