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.
