The Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer lived in relative obscurity. His death in 1675 left his wife, Catharina, and their 11 children in debt. In the centuries since then, a mere 34 or 35 paintings have been attributed to the artist; most are set in two small rooms in his house in Delft. Yet the earthly glow of his canvases is hypnotic, and his sitters, framed in halos of solitude and even enigma, captivate. Four paintings as well as 50 years of imaging-technology inform this exhibition. Two forgeries on view further assist in the analysis of what makes a Vermeer a Vermeer. —Elena Clavarino