One artist with a particularly interesting point of view about the use of the camera obscura in painting was Jan Vermeer, who lived in the Netherlands from 1632 to 1675. | Historical analyses suggest that Dutch masters were interested in the science of optics, so they may have used the camera obscura to trace images. | The use of the camera obscura is being analyzed in the paintings of Jan Vermeer, who lived in the Netherlands when art and science were flourishing there. | One view held by historians is that most Dutch masters were as interested in art as they were in science, and that provides clues about the techniques used in their paintings. |