Johannes Vermeer was born in 1632, in the city of Delft in The Netherlands. The precise date of his birth is unknown but we do know that he was baptised on the 31st of October, 1632, in the Reformed Church in Delft. His father, Reynier Vermeer, was a silk weaver and an art dealer. He married Johannes' mother, Digna, who was from Antwerp, Belgium, in 1615. Reynier Vermeer's name actually was Reynier Vos (Fox), but he used the name Van der Meer. He was probably the one who introduced the art of painting to the young Johannes. The Vermeer family bought a large house near the market square in Delft in 1641. This house, the "Mechelen", was actually an inn and Reynier Vermeer probably used the place to sell paintings. After his death in 1652, Johannes Vermeer inherited the Mechelen as well as his father's bussiness.

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