Title of Artwork: “Woman with a lute”
Artwork by Johannes Vermeer
Year Created 1662-1664
Summary of Woman with a lute
In the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Vermeer’s painting “Woman with a Lute,” or “Woman with a Lute Near a Window,” is on display.
As she eagerly gazes out the window, the painting depicts a young woman in an ermine-trimmed jacket and enormous pearl earrings. As stated on a Metropolitan Museum of Art website about the work, “a musical courtship is suggested by the viola da gamba on floor in foreground and by the flow of songbooks across tabletop and onto floor.”
All About Woman with a lute
It was widely accepted that the lute’s tuning was a symbol of the virtue of moderation in the eyes of contemporary viewers. Approximately 51.4 x 45.7 cm, the painting is 2014 inches tall and 18 inches wide.
The canvas for Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid was almost certainly cut from the same bolt as the canvas for this painting.
Young Woman with a Water Pitcher may have been painted shortly after this work, as the figure is similarly framed within rectangular motifs in both works. Vermeer made a shift toward more muted tones in the mid-to late 1660s, which is evident in this painting.
This is when Vermeer began incorporating shadows and softer contours into his paintings in order to create a more intimate atmosphere.
Objects in the foreground have darkened with age and the paint surface has been abraded mostly in the same area, which has lessened the impression of spatial recession and atmosphere, as stated on the Met’s website.
Information Citations
En.wikipedia.org, https://en.wikipedia.org/.
