Neil Thomas Proto's Johannes Vermeer Provocateur: Risk and Courage in Dissent presents a provocative reinterpretation of the famous Dutch painter.

Proto's central argument is that Johannes Vermeer was a civic-minded provocateur and dissenter who used his art to subtly critique the religious and social repression of the "Dutch Golden Age." This view goes against the traditional image of Vermeer as merely a master of light and domestic interior scenes.

The book argues that the romanticized period of the Dutch Golden Age was underpinned by dark realities, including terror, slavery, condescension, and religious/social repression enforced by law and powerful institutions like the Dutch East India and West India Companies.

Proto posits that Vermeer was civically driven and used the subtle strokes of his paintbrush to defy the forces of law and corporate power that fueled this repression. He suggests that Vermeer's art is a predecessor to modern socially engaged art.

As a Catholic convert in the Calvinist-dominated Dutch Republic, Vermeer faced religious bigotry. Paintings like the Allegory of the Catholic Faith are cited as acts of rebellious dissent, as the display of religious iconography was often banned or suppressed by the reigning Calvinist sect.

The book encourages looking at Vermeer's paintings not just for their aesthetic qualities, but also as reflections of the dangerous and powerful forces at work in his life and society.

Proto, who is a lawyer and writer, brings a unique perspective to the art history, incorporating his own experiences with challenging power and injustice (as noted in the book's "The Author's Bearings" section) to re-examine Vermeer's life and artistic choices.

In short, the book aims to show that Vermeer was "so much more than we imagined," transforming him from the "Sphinx of Delft" into a figure of "risk and courage in dissent."