delft

"New York Times bestselling author and art critic Laura Cumming reveals the fascinating, little-known story of the Thunderclap--the massive explosion at a gunpowder store in Holland that killed Carel Fabritius, renowned painter of The Goldfinch, and nearly killed Johannes Vermeer, painter of Girl with a Pearl Earring--two of the greatest artists of the 17th century"--.

Explains how the small but vibrant Dutch city of Delft produced a wide range of artworks during the seventeenth century, and traces the history and culture of Delft from the 1200s through the lifetime of the city's most renowned painter, Johannes Vermeer.

The life of sixteen-year-old Griet is transformed forever when she goes to work as a maid in the home of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, and catches the eye of the famous artist.