Leeuwenhoek and Vermeer, an association of genius

Antony van Leeuwenhoek, the inventor of the microscope and originator of the microscopic sciences, had an interesting association with the great Dutch artist, Vermeer, whose paintings were recently displayed in major exhibitions in Holland and the U.S.A. Leeuwenhoek is of particular interest to dental medicine for the first description of the oral bacteria and the first microscopic description of the stratified squamous epithelium of the oral mucosa, with its different layers from stratum germinativum to stratum corneum.