Why do we go to art museums? Certainly, there is pleasure in lingering over coffee in a museum café, surrounded by people who seem to interpret existence through Vermeer. But beyond the ritual, beyond the quiet prestige of having been there, why do we really go? The idea of “seeing the original” tends to resonate most deeply with those already immersed in art history and visual culture. But what draws everyone else — those who neither distinguish Baroque from Rococo nor feel

His paintings hang in the world’s most famous museums — but his life story is far less known. One of the greatest artists of the Golden Age nearly became a preacher before changing his fate forever. Curious who he is? Read on to uncover the truth. Read more