Lawrence Gowing's classic study has long been treasured for the painterly sensibilities he brought to this greatly loved body of work. Finally the text is available again, with a new foreword and fresh reproductions of Vermeer's paintings.

Lawrence Gowing (1918-1991), art historian, teacher, and painter, was the author of Cézanne: The Early Years, and curator of the landmark exhibition mounted in Paris in 1988. His last books were Cézanne: The Basel Sketchbooks (1988) and Paintings in the Louvre (1994).

"Gowing's text remains the single best sustained piece of critical writing that exists on Vermeer."—Svetlana Alpers