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
Pieter Symonsz Potter Pieter Symonsz Potter Pieter Symonsz Potter (1597, Enkhuizen – 1652, Amsterdam), was a Dutch Golden Age painter. According to Houbraken he was the city secretary of Enkhuizen, married to the daughter of Paulus Bertius and the father of the painter Pieter I Potter, making him the grandfather of Pieter II, Paulus, and Maria Potter. According to the RKD his wife was the sister of the painter Willem Bartsius, and he was the father, not the grandfather, of Pieter II, Paulus and Maria. He was first trained as a glass painter and in 1628 moved to Leiden to learn painting in