Johannes Vermeer, Brieflezende vrouw
On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest) · Rijksmuseum, AmsterdamView original →
Johannes Vermeer

Brieflezende vrouw

c. 1663

Current Collection

Rijksmuseum

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Medium
canvas
Dimensions
70 × 63 cm
Status
In Museum Collection
Collect24 Art ID
C24-105726

Enjoying a quiet, private moment, this young woman is absorbed in reading a letter in the morning light. She is still wearing her blue night jacket. All of the colours in the composition are secondary to its radiant lapis lazuli blue. Vermeer recorded the effects of light with extraordinary precision. Particularly innovative is his rendering of the woman’s skin with pale grey, and the shadows on the wall using light blue.

Provenance

On loan from the City of Amsterdam (A. van der Hoop Bequest)

Registry history

  • c. 1663 — Recorded in the collection of Rijksmuseum

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Auction history

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