A young scholar in a Japanese-style robe leans over a chart, dividers in hand, and gazes toward the window as if struck by an idea. The globe, sea chart and cross-staff are accurate tools of his trade. It pairs with Vermeer's Astronomer, painted with the same model; the Delft scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek has been proposed but never proven.
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The globe is a 1618 Hondius, turned to the Indian Ocean, where the Dutch East India Company traded. This is one of only three paintings Vermeer both signed and dated.
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