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Vermeer's
few works--they number about thirty-five--were
not well known outside of Delft, perhaps because
many of them were concentrated in the collection
of a patron in Delft who seems to have had a
special relationship with the artist. When Vermeer
died, however, he was heavily in debt, in part
because his art dealing business had suffered
during the difficult economic times in the Netherlands
in early 1670s.
After his death he was survived by his wife
Catharina and eleven children, eight of whom
were underage. His wife petitioned for bankruptcy
the following year. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek,
the famed Delft microscopist, who was apparently
a friend of Vermeer, was named trustee for the
estate.
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