Pieter van Ruijven had belonged to the Van Ruijvens, who had built up a large collection of paintings by Vermeer, three by Emanuel de Witte, four by Simon de Vlieger and one by Jan Porcellis. He is depicted as a predatory lecher in Tracy Chevalier's historical novel "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (1999), although there is absolutely no evidence of this. The 2003 film of the book also follows this characterization. Pieter van Ruijven Pieter Claesz. van Ruijven (Delft, 1624 – Delft, August 7, 1674) is best known as Johannes Vermeer's patron for the better part of the artist's career. Van Ruijven was
Maria Thins attributed this to stress caused by all their financial difficulties. After Vermeer's death, Maria Thins stated that she used her income to help support the struggling painter and his growing family. For her help she received "The Art of Painting", one of the finest, most mysterious and famous paintings in the history of Western Art. In 1676 she lived in the Hague but moved back to Delft where, upon her death, she was buried in the Protestant Old Church on 27 December 1680, next to Vermeer and her son Willem. The burial record states that she died as the widow