Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

Woman in Blue Reading a Letter

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Year
  
1663–1664

Artist
  
Johannes Vermeer

Created
  
1663–1664

Genre
  
History painting

Medium
  
Oil on canvas

Location
  
Rijksmuseum

Media
  
Oil paint

Periods
  
Baroque, Dutch Golden Age

Woman in Blue Reading a Letter lh3ggphtcomGMIkVT9orEHXj8uTyODNlPpgCytRVfy7nmM

Dimensions
  
46.6 cm × 39.1 cm (18.3 in × 15.4 in)

Similar
  
Girl Reading a Letter at a, A Lady Writing a Letter, The Love Letter, Woman with a Water Jug, Woman Holding a Balance

Johannes vermeer woman in blue reading a letter 1663


Woman Reading a Letter (Dutch: Brieflezende vrouw) is a painting by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Part of the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam since 1885, it was the first Vermeer acquired by the museum.

Contents

woman reading a letter by vermeer watching art 23


Composition

The central element of the painting is a woman in blue standing in front of a window (not depicted) reading a letter. The woman appears to be pregnant, although many have argued that the woman's rounded figure is simply a result of the fashions of the day. Although the woman's loose clothing may be suggestive, pregnancy was very rarely depicted in art during this period.

While the contents of the letter are not depicted, the composition of the painting is revealing. The map of the Netherlands on the wall behind the woman has been interpreted as suggesting that the letter she reads was written by a traveling husband. Alternatively, the box of pearls barely visible on the table before the woman might suggest a lover as pearls are sometimes a symbol of vanity. The very action of letter-reading reflects a thematic pattern throughout Vermeer's works, as the quotidian, private moment becomes revealing of the human condition.

The painting is unique among Vermeer's interiors in that no fragment of corner, wall or ceiling can be seen.

References

Woman in Blue Reading a Letter Wikipedia