This is a famous painting called "The Astronomer" done by a Dutch painter called Vermeer. It symbolizes huge transformations in Vermeer's society, Netherlands in 1668. At the time the Church was losing control over knowledge and a set of new ideas were taking place: Reason and Science . This work makes a clear and direct reference to one of the icons of the Scientific Revolution, Galileo Galilei. To know more about the "father of modern science" please read here. You can see the original of "The Astronomer" in Paris, at the Louvre.
