Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid
Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid | |
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Artist | Johannes Vermeer |
Year | c. 1670-1671 |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 71.1 cm × 60.5 cm (28.0 in × 23.8 in) |
Location | National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin |
Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid (
Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid is the first of the artist's experiments with centrifugal composition; where the focus is not only from the centre of the canvas.[3] In addition, it is his third work in which the drama and dynamic is not centred on a single figure.[4] The maid is shown standing in the mid-ground, behind her lady, with her hands crossed and waiting for the letter to be completed. The positions of their bodies indicate that the two women are disconnected. The folded arms of the maid seem outwardly as an attempt to display a sense of self-containment, however she is detached from her lady both emotionally and psychologically.[3] The maid's gaze towards the half-visible window indicates an inner restlessness and boredom, as she waits impatiently for the messenger to carry her lady's letter away.[5] Some art historians dispute the absoluteness of this view; according to Pascal Bonafoux, while complicity is not "indicated by a look or a smile" from either woman, the mere fact of her presence during such an intimate act as the composition of a love letter indicates at least a degree of intimacy between the two.[4]
The painting visits many of Vermeer's usual painterly motifs; in particular his obsession with the inside/outside axis of interior spaces,[5] and through his description of the tiled floor as well as the verticals of the dresses, window frame and back wall painting, his interest in geometry and abstract form. Vermeer had experimented with this painterly device earlier in his career, notably in his View of Delft, The Lacemaker and The Art of Painting.[6]
Lady Writing was stolen on 27 April 1974, along with a
See also
Notes
- ISBN 978-0-300-10639-8.
- ^ Walter Liedtke; C. Richard Johnson Jr.; Don H. Johnson. "Canvas matches in Vermeer: a case study in the computer analysis of canvas supports" (PDF). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ a b Wheelock, 116
- ^ a b Bonafoux, 124
- ^ a b Pollock, 215
- ^ Huerta, 94
- ^ Hart, 11–13
- Radio Telefís Éireann, 26 June 2001. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
- ^ a b Dolnick, Edward. "How Ireland got back its Vermeer". The Times, 31 July 2005. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
- ^ Hart, 58; 193
- ^ Burns, John & Tallant, Nicola. "Double theft reveals secret of Vermeer". The Times, 30 May 2004. Retrieved 24 May 2009.
Sources
- ISBN 1-56852-308-4
- Hart, Matthew. The Irish Game. London: Random House, 2004. ISBN 0-09-947457-3
- Huerta, Robert. Vermeer and Plato: Painting the Ideal. Bucknell University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8387-5606-9
- ISBN 0-415-06699-9
- Wheelock, Arthur K. Vermeer: The Complete Works. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997. ISBN 0-8109-2751-9
Further reading
- Liedtke, Walter A. (2001). Vermeer and the Delft School. ISBN 978-0-87099-973-4.
External links
- Woman Writing a Letter, with her Maid at the website of the National Gallery of Ireland