Letter writer in yellow
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| Letter writer in yellow |
|---|
| Jan Vermeer , 1665-1670 |
| Oil on canvas |
| 45 × 39.9 cm |
| National Gallery of Art |
Letter writer in yellow (original title: Schrijvend meisje) is a painting by Jan Vermeer , which was created between 1665 and 1670. Thepicture,45 centimeters high and 39.9 centimeters wide,paintedwith oil on canvas, shows a young woman dressed in yellow writing a letter. The painting belongs to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC , where it is open to the public. It was donated in 1962 by Harry Waldron Havemeyer and Horace Havemeyer and bears the inventory number. 1962.10.1
Image description
In the center of the picture sits a young woman who looks directly at the viewer and smiles. She wears a short jacket made of yellow satin with fur trim and pearls on the ears. There are also bows tied in her hair. The woman is holding a goose quill in her hand, but does not write in the moment she is recording. The content of the letter and the thoughts of the woman cannot be deduced for the viewer of the picture, since Vermeer did not use any related attributes. The foreground and background are in the dark, the middle part of the room in the light. Jan Vermeer thus creates a special spatial depth. The pearl necklace lying on the table, the upholstery nails of the chair, jewelry box and inkwell shine in the sunlight.
Vermeer may have taken the simple composition from other pictures such as The Letter Writer by Gerard ter Borch and A Woman Strings Pearls by Frans van Mieris . The motif depicting a woman in an everyday occupation is quite common in Jan Vermeer's work. The motif of the woman writing letters was a popular subject in the Netherlands in the 17th century.
Due to the individualized facial features of the woman, it is partly assumed that the portrayed woman is Catharina Bolnes, Vermeer's wife. However, this cannot be clearly proven.
Provenance
The letter writer in yellow was probably auctioned off at the Dissius auction in 1696 under the title A woman writing . As a result, the picture changed hands again and again and was auctioned several times. Between 1946 and 1956 the picture was in the possession of Horace Havemeyer . After his death Harry Waldron Havemeyer and Horace Havemeyer Jr. inherited it . which the letter writer in yellow donated to the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC in 1962 .
literature
- Norbert Schneider: Vermeer all paintings . Taschen, Cologne 2004. ISBN 3-8228-6377-7
- Arthur K. Wheelock: Vermeer . 2nd Edition. DuMont Literature and Art Publishing, Cologne 2003, ISBN 3-8321-7339-0 , ( DuMont's library of great painters ).
- Jeroen Giltaij, Peter Hecht: The magic of the everyday. Dutch painting from Adriaen Brouwer to Johannes Vermeer . Hatje Cantz Verlag, Ostfildern-Ruit 2005, ISBN 3-7757-1522-3 , (exhibition catalog).