The Astronomer by Vermeer: The Globe, the Book and the Light

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Explore the artist · possible likenessJohannes Vermeer →

A scholar reaching for the stars

Celestial globe with painted constellations and a hand reaching to it — A celestial globe by Hondius.

A young man in a blue robe leans over a table and reaches towards a celestial globe, the sky’s constellations painted on its surface. Light falls through a window at the left onto his face and hand.

Vermeer dated the painting 1668. It belongs to the Louvre in Paris and is the companion of The Geographer in Frankfurt, which shows what appears to be the same man studying the earth.

A face lit from the window

Concentration in profile.

The scholar is seen in profile, his long hair falling to his shoulders. He looks at the globe with concentration. His face is softly lit, and the rest of his body sinks into shadow.

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Real instruments, real books

Open book on the table beside the scholar’s hand — A book by Adriaen Metius.

The globe has been identified as a celestial globe published by Jodocus Hondius in 1600. The open book on the table is a Dutch edition of a treatise by Adriaen Metius on astronomy and geography, open at a page advising the scholar to seek inspiration from God.

These accurate details suggest Vermeer worked with real objects, and perhaps with a learned adviser.

Light from the left

Leaded window letting in daylight — Light from the left.

As in many of Vermeer’s interiors, light enters through a leaded window at the left. On the wall behind hangs a painting of the Finding of Moses, half in shadow, often read as a reference to Moses as a man learned in the wisdom of the Egyptians.

Seized in the war

The painting belonged to the Rothschild family in Paris. During the Second World War it was seized by the Nazis and intended for Hitler’s planned museum in Linz. It was recovered after the war and entered the Louvre in 1983.

Questions about The Astronomer

When was it painted?

Vermeer dated it 1668.

Where is the original?

Musée du Louvre, Paris.

Is there a companion painting?

Yes, The Geographer (1669), Städel Museum, Frankfurt.

What is the globe?

A celestial globe by Jodocus Hondius, 1600, showing the constellations.

Sources and image credit

Faithful public-domain reproduction of The Astronomer (1668), via Wikimedia Commons. Detail images are crops of the same historical painting; no reconstruction or upscaling.