Editing Johannes Vermeer (section)

===Wars and death===
[[File:Johannes Vermeer - Gezicht op huizen in Delft, bekend als 'Het straatje' - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[The Little Street]]'' (1657–1658)]]
[[File:Possible burial place of Johannes Vermeer in Oude Kerk. Delft, Netherlands.jpg|thumb|Memorial (2007) of Johannes Vermeer in Oude Kerk. Delft, Netherlands]]

In 1672, a severe economic downturn known as the [[Rampjaar]] struck the Dutch Republic, after French troops led by [[Louis XIV]] invaded the country from the south during the [[Franco-Dutch War]]. At the same time, troops from [[Prince-Bishopric of Münster|Münster]] and [[Electorate of Cologne|Cologne]] invaded the country from the east, causing more destruction. Many people panicked; courts, theaters, shops and schools were closed. Vermeer's sale of {{clarification needed span|text=a painting|reason=Is it possible to clarify whether it was one of his own works or an item from his gallery painted by another.|date=February 2023}} that year was his last.<ref name="Schneider-2000"/> Five years passed before circumstances improved. In 1674, Vermeer was listed as a member of the [[schutterij|civic guards]].<ref>{{cite web |author-first=Jonathan |author-last=Janson |url=http://www.essentialvermeer.com/delft/delft_today/schutterij.html#.VC-ZUBY09EI |title=Vermeer's Delft Today: ''Schutterij and the Doelen'' |work=Essential Vermeer}}</ref> In the summer of 1675, Vermeer borrowed 1,000 guilders in Amsterdam from Jacob Romboutsz (grandfather of [[Hendrick Sorgh]]), an Amsterdam silk trader, using his mother-in-law's property as a [[surety]].{{Sfn|Montias|1991|p=337}}<ref>[https://cmkschilderwerken.nl/vermeer-en-milieu/ "A Postscript on Vermeer and His Milieu"], Auteur: John Michael Montias, Uitgever: Uitgeverij Atlas Contact B.V.</ref>

On 15 December 1675, Vermeer died after a short illness. He was 43 years old. He was buried in the Protestant [[Oude Kerk (Delft)|Old Church]] on 15 December 1675.{{efn|He was baptized as '''Joannis''', but buried under the name '''Jan'''.{{Relevance inline|date=December 2020}}}}{{efn|When Catharina Bolnes was buried in 1688, she was registered as the "widow of Johan Vermeer".}} In a petition to her creditors, Catharina Bolnes attributed her husband's death to the stress of financial pressures, and described his death as follows: 

<blockquote>... during the ruinous war with France he not only was unable to sell any of his art but also, to his great detriment, was left sitting with the paintings of other masters that he was dealing in. As a result and owing to the great burden of his children having no means of his own, he lapsed into such decay and decadence, which he had so taken to heart that, as if he had fallen into a [[Phrenitis|frenzy]], in a day and a half he went from being healthy to being dead.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.essentialvermeer.com/vermeer%27s_life_04.html#.U1ktxlf8iZR |author-first=Jonathan |author-last=Janson |title=Vermeer's Life and Art (part four) |work=Essential Vermeer}}</ref></blockquote>

Catharina describes how the collapse of the art market had damaged Vermeer's business as both a painter and an art dealer. She had to raise 11 children and therefore asked the [[Hof van Holland|High Court]] to relieve her of debts owed to Vermeer's creditors.{{Sfn|Montias|1991|pp=344–345}} Pioneering Dutch [[Microscopy|microscopist]] [[Antonie van Leeuwenhoek]], who worked for the city council as a [[Surveying|surveyor]], was appointed [[trustee]].{{Sfn|Snyder|2015|pp=268–271}} The house had eight rooms on the first floor, the contents of which were listed in an inventory taken a few months after Vermeer's death.<ref name="Inventory">{{Cite web |url=http://www.essentialvermeer.com/inventory.html |author-first=Jonathan |author-last=Janson |title=Inventory of movable goods in Vermeer's house in Delft|website=Essential Vermeer |access-date=19 March 2020}}</ref> In his [[studio]], there were two chairs, two painter's easels, three palettes, 10 canvases, a desk, an oak pull table, a small wooden cupboard with drawers, and "rummage not worthy being itemized".{{Sfn|Montias|1991|pp=339–344}} Nineteen of Vermeer's paintings were bequeathed to Catharina and her mother. The widow sold two more paintings to [[Hendrick van Buyten]] to pay off a substantial debt.{{Sfn|Montias|1989|p=217}}

Vermeer had been a respected artist in Delft, but he was almost unknown outside his hometown. A local patron named Pieter van Ruijven had purchased much of his output, which kept Vermeer afloat financially but reduced the possibility of his fame spreading.{{efn|Van Ruijven's son-in-law [[Jacob Dissius]] owned 21 paintings by Vermeer, listed in his heritage in 1695. These paintings were sold in Amsterdam the following year in a much-studied auction, published by [[Gerard Hoet]].}} Several factors contributed to his limited body of work. Vermeer never had any pupils, though one scholar has suggested that Vermeer taught his eldest daughter Maria to paint.<ref>{{Cite book |author-last=Binstock |author-first=Benjamin |title=Vermeer's family secrets: genius, discovery, and the unknown apprentice |date=2009 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-96664-1 |location=New York, USA |oclc=191024081}}</ref> Additionally, his family obligations with so many children may have taken up much of his time, as would acting as both an art dealer and inn-keeper in running the family businesses. His time spent serving as head of the guild and his extraordinary precision as a painter may have also limited his output.