The Love Letter (Vermeer)

The Love Letter is a painting by Jan Vermeer, written 1669/1670. The 44 inches high and 38.5 inches wide oil painting shows a scene between a mistress and a maid. Currently, the image in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam can be seen.

Image description

Through a dark vestibule of the viewer of the painting can be seen in a bright room. At one end of the hall is a chair, lying on the sheet music. Above the chair is a curtain clamped hanging over the right half of the passage at the top of the screen. In the middle of the second room, the lady of the house sitting with a lute in her lap on a chair. In her right hand she holds a letter, which was shortly before her presented by the maid. The lady looks up at the maid, their feelings may not be clearly classified from the look out. The content of the letter is more closely defined not by attributes but the name has to be a title enforced as a love letter. The decor of the room is luxurious with the two paintings on the back wall and the gold leather trim.

Provenance

The love letter was auctioned on 29 March 1892 in Amsterdam. The image was then 1892/1893 held by the Vereniging Rembrandt, the Rijksmuseum in 1893 it transferred.