A Lady Writing

c. 1665

Johannes Vermeer

Artist, Dutch, 1632 - 1675

Shown from about the knees up, a pale, smooth-skinned woman in a fur-lined yellow jacket looks out at us as she sits writing at a table in this vertical painting. The woman’s body faces the table to our left. She turns her head to gaze at us from the corners of her dark gray eyes under faint brows. She has a wide nose, and her pale lips are closed. Her light brown hair is pulled back and held in place with white bows, and gleaming teardrop-shaped pearl earrings dangle from her ears. Her lemon-yellow jacket is trimmed with ermine fur, which is white with black speckles, at the cuffs and down the front opening. A full, elephant-gray skirt falls to the floor beneath the jacket. Both hands rest on the table, and she holds a quill in her right hand, farther from us, on a piece of paper. She leans forward in her wooden chair. The back panel of the chair is covered in black fabric and lined with brass studs. Two gilded finials, carved into lions’ heads, face the woman’s back with mouths open. The table is covered with a celestial-blue cloth crumpled near the left edge of the canvas. On the table are a strand of pearls, a pale yellow ribbon, and a black box with three brown panels studded with pearls around silver keyholes. Two pewter gray vessels are visible just beyond it, in front of a second chair, which faces us. On the putty-gray wall behind the woman, a framed painting hangs in the upper left quadrant of the composition. The painting-within-the painting is done in muted tones of brown and shows a cello and other unidentifiable objects.

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Above all, Johannes Vermeer was a painter of light. In this exquisite painting, diffused light softly illuminates the tabletop, the woman’s face, and her rich lemon-yellow morning jacket. Accents on the pearls decorating her jewelry box, her earrings, and her satin hair ribbons further enliven the image. The woman’s open gaze engages the viewer, which suggests that the painting may be a portrait instead of a generalized portrayal of a young woman at her writing table.

Johannes Vermeer became a master in the Saint Luke’s Guild of Delft on December 29, 1653. At that time he specialized in history painting, and his first works were large-scale mythological and religious paintings. Shortly thereafter he began to paint the genre scenes, landscapes, and allegories for which he has become so renowned. Even though Vermeer's subject matter changed in the mid-1650s, he continued to imbue his later works with the quiet, intimate moods he had preferred in his early history paintings. His oeuvre is small: only 35 paintings are currently attributed to the master.

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Artwork overview

More About this Artwork

Shown from about the knees up, a pale, smooth-skinned woman in a fur-lined yellow jacket looks out at us as she sits writing at a table in this vertical painting. The woman’s body faces the table to our left. She turns her head to gaze at us from the corners of her dark gray eyes under faint brows. She has a wide nose, and her pale lips are closed. Her light brown hair is pulled back and held in place with white bows, and gleaming teardrop-shaped pearl earrings dangle from her ears. Her lemon-yellow jacket is trimmed with ermine fur, which is white with black speckles, at the cuffs and down the front opening. A full, elephant-gray skirt falls to the floor beneath the jacket. Both hands rest on the table, and she holds a quill in her right hand, farther from us, on a piece of paper. She leans forward in her wooden chair. The back panel of the chair is covered in black fabric and lined with brass studs. Two gilded finials, carved into lions’ heads, face the woman’s back with mouths open. The table is covered with a celestial-blue cloth crumpled near the left edge of the canvas. On the table are a strand of pearls, a pale yellow ribbon, and a black box with three brown panels studded with pearls around silver keyholes. Two pewter gray vessels are visible just beyond it, in front of a second chair, which faces us. On the putty-gray wall behind the woman, a framed painting hangs in the upper left quadrant of the composition. The painting-within-the painting is done in muted tones of brown and shows a cello and other unidentifiable objects.

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Shown from about the knees up, a pale, smooth-skinned woman in a fur-lined yellow jacket looks out at us as she sits writing at a table in this vertical painting. The woman’s body faces the table to our left. She turns her head to gaze at us from the corners of her dark gray eyes under faint brows. She has a wide nose, and her pale lips are closed. Her light brown hair is pulled back and held in place with white bows, and gleaming teardrop-shaped pearl earrings dangle from her ears. Her lemon-yellow jacket is trimmed with ermine fur, which is white with black speckles, at the cuffs and down the front opening. A full, elephant-gray skirt falls to the floor beneath the jacket. Both hands rest on the table, and she holds a quill in her right hand, farther from us, on a piece of paper. She leans forward in her wooden chair. The back panel of the chair is covered in black fabric and lined with brass studs. Two gilded finials, carved into lions’ heads, face the woman’s back with mouths open. The table is covered with a celestial-blue cloth crumpled near the left edge of the canvas. On the table are a strand of pearls, a pale yellow ribbon, and a black box with three brown panels studded with pearls around silver keyholes. Two pewter gray vessels are visible just beyond it, in front of a second chair, which faces us. On the putty-gray wall behind the woman, a framed painting hangs in the upper left quadrant of the composition. The painting-within-the painting is done in muted tones of brown and shows a cello and other unidentifiable objects.

Scholarly Article:  Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century: A Lady Writing, c. 1665

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Possibly Pieter Claesz van Ruijven [1624-1674], Delft; possibly by inheritance to his wife, Maria de Knuijt [d. 1681]; possibly by inheritance to her daughter, Magdalena van Ruijven [1655-1682], Delft; possibly by inheritance to her husband, Jacobus Abrahamsz. Dissius [1653-1695], Delft;[1] (his sale, Amsterdam, 16 May 1696, no. 35).[2] J. van Buren, The Hague; (his sale, Bernardus Scheurleer, The Hague, 7-12 November 1808, 6th day [12 Nov.], no. 22 of the paintings). Dr. Cornelis Jan Luchtmans [1777-1860], Rotterdam; (his sale, by Mierop, Muys van Leen, and Lamme, Rotterdam, 20 and 22 April 1816, 1st day, no. 90); J. Kamermans, Rotterdam; (his sale, by A. Lamme, Rotterdam, 3 October 1825, no. 70); Lelie.[3] Hendrik Reydon; (his sale, by J. de Vries, A. Brondgeest, E.M. Engelberts, and C.F. Roos, Amsterdam, 5-6 April 1827, no. 26). François-Xavier, comte de Robiano [1778-1836], Brussels; (his estate sale, Hotel du Défunt, Brussels, 1 May 1837 and days following, no. 436); purchased by Héris for François-Xavier's son. Ludovic, comte de Robiano [1807-1887], Brussels; by inheritance to Ludovic's heirs, possibly his daughter and only child, Jeanne [1835-1900] and her husband, Gustave, baron de Senzeilles de Soumagne [1824-1906], until 1906;[4] (J. & A. LeRoy, Brussels); purchased 1907 by J. Pierpont Morgan [1837-1913], New York; by inheritance to his son, J. P. Morgan, Jr. [1867-1943], New York; consigned 1935-1939 to, and purchased 1940 by (M. Knoedler & Co., New York); sold 1940 to Sir Harry Oakes [1874-1943], Nassau, Bahamas; by gift or inheritance to his wife, Lady Eunice Myrtle McIntyre Oakes [c. 1894-1981], Nassau, Bahamas; consigned 1946 to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York);[5] sold 1946 to Horace Havemeyer [1886-1956], New York; by inheritance to his sons, Harry Waldron Havemeyer [b. 1929], New York, and Horace Havemeyer, Jr. [1914-1990], New York;[6] gift 1962 to NGA.
[1] The 1683 inventory of goods accruing to Jacob Dissius after the death of his wife Magdalena van Ruyven lists twenty paintings by Vermeer. For the complete transactions between her husband Jacob Dissius and his father Abraham Dissius following her death, see John Michael Montias, Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History, Princeton, 1989: 246-257, 359-361, docs. 417, 420.
[2] For this sale see Michael Montias, Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History, Princeton, 1989: 363-364, doc. 439.
[3] This name is recorded in an annotated copy of the sale catalogue in the NGA Library.
[4] This is suggested by the Getty Provenance Index© Databases, Public Collections, record 17464.
[5] The Knoedler’s consignment numbers were CA 1503 (from Morgan) and CA 2758 (from Lady Oakes), per the Getty Provenance Index© Databases, Public Collections, record 17464.
[6] Harry W. Havemeyer (correspondence 12 August 2010) indicated that Vermeer’s painting hung over the fireplace in the library of their residence at 720 Park Avenue, but emphasized that the fireplace, therefore, was never used. He wrote that his father probably had first admired the painting at the Hudson-Fulton exhibition in 1909, and was pleased to be able to acquire it from Knoedler’s when it was offered to him in 1946. Harry and Horace Havemeyer decided to donate the painting to the National Gallery of Art because of their father’s admiration for the Gallery and its director John Walker.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1873

  • Exposition de tableaux et dessins d'anciens maîtres, La société néerlandaise de bienfaisance à Bruxelles, Brussels, 1873, no. 264.

1908

  • Loan to display with the permanent collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1908 and 1909-1913.

1909

  • The Hudson-Fulton Celebration, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1909, no. 136.

1935

  • Vermeer, Oorsprong en Invloed, Fabritius, de Hooch, de Witte, Museum Boymans-van-Bauningen, Rotterdam, 1935, no. 86a.

1939

  • Masterpieces of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture from 1300-1800, New York World's Fair, 1939, no. 399. repro.

1940

  • Loan Exhibition of Allied Art for Allied Aid for the Benefit of the Red Cross War Relief Fund, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1940, no. 6.

1941

  • Loan Exhibition in Honor of Royal Cortissoz and His 50 Years of Criticism in the New York Herald Tribune, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1941, no. 71.

1942

  • Paintings by the Great Dutch Masters of the Seventeenth Century, Duveen Galleries, New York, 1942, no. 68, repro.; Art Institute of Chicago, no. 42, repro.

1943

  • An Exhibition of Paintings by Living Masters of the Past, Baltimore Museum of Art; The North Carolina State Art Society Gallery, Raleigh, 1943, unnumbered catalogue, repro.

1946

  • Loan Exhibition of 24 Masterpieces, M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1946, no. 15, repro.

1976

  • Chefs-d'oeuvre de Musées des États-Unis de Giorgione à Picasso, Musée Marmottan, Paris, 1976, no. 18, repro.

  • Zapadnoevropeiskaia i Amerikanskaia zhivopis is muzeev ssha [West European and American Painting from the Museums of USA], State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad; State Pushkin Museum, Moscow; State Museums, Kiev and Minsk, 1976, unnumbered catalogue.

1987

  • Space in European Art: Council of Europe Exhibition in Japan, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, 1987, no. 86.

1989

  • Masterpieces of Western European Painting of the XVIth-XXth Centuries from the Museums of the European Countries and USA, State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, 1989, no. 14, repro.

1990

  • Great Dutch Paintings from America, Mauritshuis, The Hague; The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, 1990-1991, no. 67, color repro., as A Girl Writing a Letter.

1993

  • Leselust: Niederländische Malerei von Rembrandt bis Vermeer, Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt, Germany, 1993-1994, no. 85, repro.

1995

  • Johannes Vermeer, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis, The Hague, 1995-1996, no. 13, repro.

1999

  • Johannes Vermeer: The Art of Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1999-2000, not in brochure.

  • Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, 1999, no. 83, repro.

2001

  • Art and Home: Dutch Interiors in the Age of Rembrandt, The Newark Museum; Denver Art Museum, 2001-2002, no. 108, fig. 108 (shown only in Denver).

2003

  • Love Letters: Dutch Genre Paintings in the Age of Vermeer, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Greenwich, Connecticut, 2003-2004, no. 38, fig. 55, repro. 181 (shown only in Dublin).

2004

  • Senses and Sins: Dutch Painters of Daily Life in the Seventeenth Century, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städtische Galerie, Frankfurt, 2004-2005, no. 69, repro.

2008

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, 2008-2009.

2011

  • Human Connections in the Age of Vermeer, Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; The Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai; The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo, 2011-2012, no. 42, repro.

2015

  • Class Distinctions: Dutch Painting in the Age of Rembrandt and Vermeer, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, 2015-2016, no. 31, repro.

2016

  • Loan for display with permanent collection, Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, 2016.

2017

  • Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry, Musée du Louvre, Paris; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 2017-2018, no. 2.3, repro.

2018

  • Making the Difference: Vermeer and Dutch Art, Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo; Osaka City Museum, 2018-2019, no. 46.

Bibliography

1825

  • Murray, Lady. Tour in Holland in the Year MDCCCXIX. London, n.d. (1825?): 29.

1866

  • Thoré, Théophile E. J. (William Bürger). "Van der Meer de Delft." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 21 (October–December 1866): 543, 564. no. 40.

1888

  • Havard, Henry. Van der Meer de Delft. Paris, 1888: 38, no. 43.

1907

  • Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. Beschreibendes und kritisches Verzeichnis der Werke der hervorragendsten holländischen Maler des XVII. Jahrhunderts. 10 vols. Esslingen and Paris, 1907-1928: 1(1907):603, no. 36.

  • Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century. 8 vols. Translated by Edward G. Hawke. London, 1907-1927: 1(1907):598, no. 36.

1908

  • "Recent Loans." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 3 (April 1908): 76.

1909

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R. Catalogue of a collection of paintings by Dutch masters of the seventeenth century. The Hudson-Fulton Celebration 1. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1909: xlii, 137, no. 136, repro., 157, 161.

  • Cortissoz, Royal. "Old Dutch Masters." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 4 (10 October 1909): 166.

  • Stephenson, B. P. "Great Dutch Artists." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 4, no. 10 (October 1909): 168, 172, repro.

1910

  • "Kleine Nachrichten." Der Cicerone 2 (1910): 109-110.

  • Friedländer, Max J. "Die Ausstellung holländischer Bilder im Metropolitan Museum zu New York 1909." Repertorium für Kunstwissenschaft 33 (1910): 95-99.

  • Breck, Joseph. "Hollandsche kunst op de Hudson-Fulton tentoonstelling te New York." Onze Kunst 17 (February 1910): 5-12, 41-47.

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R. "Die Ausstellung holländischer Gemälde in New York." Monatshefte für Kunstwissenschaft 3 (1910): 11, 12, pl. 8, fig. 14.

  • Valentiner, Wilhelm R. Catalogue of a Loan Exhibition of Paintings by Old Dutch Masters Held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Connection with the Hudson-Fulton Celebration. New York, 1910: 26, repro. 456, 457, no. 136.

  • Cox, Kenyon. "Art in America, Dutch Paintings in the Hudson-Fulton Exhibition II." The Burlington Magazine 16, no. 82 (January 1910): 246.

  • Cox, Kenyon. "Art in America, Dutch Paintings in the Hudson-Fulton Exhibition III." The Burlington Magazine 16, no. 83 (February 1910): 303 pl. 3.

1911

  • Plietzsch, Eduard. Vermeer van Delft. Leipzig, 1911: 118, no. 31.

1913

  • Hale, Philip L. Jan Vermeer of Delft. Boston, 1913: 240, 250-252, 373, repro.

1921

  • Vanzype, Gustave. Jan Vermeer de Delft. Brussels and Paris, 1921: 17, 74, repro.

1924

  • Hausenstein, Wilhelm. "Vermeer van Delft." Das Bild Atlanten zur Kunst 10 (1924): 27, fig. 22.

1926

  • Chantavoine, Jean. Ver Meer de Delft. Les grands Artistes. Paris, 1926: 47, 59, 76, repro.

1935

  • Hannema, Dirk. Vermeer: Oorspong en invloed Fabritius, De Hooch, De Witte. Exh. cat. Museum Boymans, Rotterdam, 1935: plate 67a, no. 86a.

  • Hévésy, André de. "Review of 1935 exhibition “Vermeer, Oorsprong en invloed. Fabritius, De Hooch, De Witte,” Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam." Le Bulletin de l’art, ancien et moderne 68 (November 1935): 363-366, repro.

  • Overbeek, J. M. C. van. "Jan Vermeer en zijn Delftsche omgeving. Naar aanleiding van de tentoonstelling in het nieuwe Boymansmuseum." Elsevier’s Geïllustreerd Maandschrift 45 (1935): 231-238, repro. 53.

  • Bazin, Germain. "L’Exposition Vermeer à Rotterdam." L’Amour de l’art 16, no. 9 (1935): 335-336, repro.

  • Huyghe, René. "Vermeer et Proust". L’Amour de l’art 17 (1935): 8, 10, figs. 6 and 21.

1937

  • Bremmer, Henricus Petrus. "Vermeer." Beeldende Kunst 23 (March 1937): 86-87, no. 87, repro.

  • Hale, Philip Leslie. Vermeer. Edited by Frederick W. Coburn and Ralph T. Hale. Boston and New York, 1937: 101, no. 35, 118, 226, pl.14.

1939

  • McCall, George Henry. Masterpieces of art: Catalogue of European paintings and sculpture from 1300-1800. Edited by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Exh. cat. New York World's Fair, New York, 1939: no. 399, repro.

  • Plietzsch, Eduard. Vermeer van Delft. Munich, 1939: 30, 61, no. 28, pl. 31.

  • Trivas, Numa S. "Oude kunst op de New Yorksche wereldtentoonstelling." Elsevier’s Geïllustreerd Maandschrift 49 (August 1939): 136-141.

  • Vries, Ary Bob de. Jan Vermeer van Delft. Bibliotheek der Nederlandsche Kunst. Amsterdam, 1939: 46-47, 88, no. 26, pl. 50.

1940

  • Comstock, Helen. "The Connoisseur in America. Loan Exhibition for War Relief." The Connoisseur 106 (October 1940): 112-114, repro.

  • Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Allied Art for Allied Aid. Important French, British, Dutch and Flemish Works in the Red Cross Benefit." Art News 39 (15 June 1940): 9, repro., 17.

  • Goldscheider, Ludwig. The Paintings of Jan Vermeer. Oxford and New York, 1940: 13, pl. 35.

  • M. Knoedler & Co. Loan Exhibition of Allied Art for Allied Aid for the Benefit of the Red Cross War Relief Fund. Exh. cat. M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1940: no. 6.

1941

  • M. Knoedler & Co. Loan exhibition in honour of Royal Cortissoz and his 50 years of criticism in the New York Herald Tribune. Exh. cat. M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1941: no. 17.

1942

  • Frankfurter, Alfred M. "Proving the Dutch Masters Great." Art News 41 (October 1942): 11, 35, repro.

  • McCall, George Henry. Paintings by the great Dutch masters of the seventeenth century: loan exhibition in aid of the Queen Wilhelmina Fund and the American Women's Voluntary Services. Exh. cat. Duveen Galleries, New York, 1942: 89, pl. 68.

  • Martin, Wilhelm. Rembrandt en zijn tijd: onze 17e eeuwsche schilderkunst in haren bloetijd en nabloei. Vol. 2 of De Hollandsche Schilderkunst in de Zeventiende Eeuw. 2nd ed. Amsterdam, 1942: 193, 196 fig. 99.

1943

  • Baltimore Museum of Art. An Exhibition of Paintings by Living Masters of the Past. Exh. cat. Baltimore Museum of Art; The North Carolina State Art Society Gallery, Raleigh. Baltimore, 1943: unnumbered catalogue, repro.

1944

  • Rigby, Douglas, and Elizabeth Rigby. Lock, Stock and Barrel: The Story of Collecting. Philadelphia, 1944: 13.

1945

  • Vries, Ary Bob de. Jan Vermeer van Delft. Basel, 1945: 58, 116, no. 26, pl. 51.

1946

  • Blum, André. Vermeer et Thoré-Burger. Geneva, 1946: 179, no. 40.

  • M. Knoedler & Co. Loan Exhibition of 24 Masterpieces. Exh. cat. M. Knoedler & Co., New York, 1946: no. 15, repro.

1948

  • Hultén, Karl Gunnar. "Zu Vermeers Atelierbild." _Konsthistorisk Tidskrift _ 17 (1948): 90-98, no. 35.

  • Vries, Ary Bob de. Jan Vermeer van Delft. Translated by Robert Allen. Revised ed. London and New York, 1948: 39-40, 88-89, pl. 19.

1949

  • Allen, Frederick Lewis. The Great Pierpont Morgan. New York, 1949: 109.

  • Thienen, Frithjof van. Jan Vermeer of Delft. Masters of Painting. New York, 1949: 23, no. 24, repro.

1950

  • Swillens, P. T. A. Johannes Vermeer: Painter of Delft, 1632–1675. Translated by C.M. Breuning-Williamson. Utrecht, 1950: 53, 67, 78, 82, 87, 89, 108, pl. 8.

1951

  • Boström, Keil. "Jan Vermeer van Delft en Cornelis van der Meulen." Oud Holland 66 (1951): 117-122, repro.

1952

  • Gowing, Lawrence. Vermeer. London, 1952: 134, no. xviii, fig. 42.

  • Malraux, André, ed. Vermeer de Delft. Paris, 1952: 65, no. xiii, repro.

1954

  • Bloch, Vitale. Tutta la Pittura di Vermeer di Delft. Milan, 1954: 35, pl. 53.

1958

  • Goldscheider, Ludwig. Jan Vermeer: The Paintings. London, 1958: 137-138, no. 20, pl. 50.

1961

  • Mirimonde, Albert P. de. "Les sujets musicaux chez Vermeer de Delft." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 57 (January 1961): 36 fig. 6, 40, 51 n. 27.

  • Reitlinger, Gerald. The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices 1760-1960. (Vol. 1 of The Economics of Taste). London, 1961: 483.

1963

  • Bloch, Vitale. All the Paintings of Jan Vermeer. Translated by Michael Kitson. The Complete Library of World Art 15. New York, 1963: 35, pl. 53.

1965

  • Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 135.

1966

  • Descargues, Pierre. Vermeer. Translated by James Emmons. Geneva, 1966: 65, repros. 130 and 134.

1967

  • Bianconi, Piero. The Complete Paintings of Vermeer. New York, 1967: 93, no. 28, repro.

  • Koningsberger, Hans. The World of Vermeer 1632-1675. New York, 1967: 154-155, repro.

1968

  • Frick Collection. The Frick Collection: An Illustrated Catalogue. 2 vols. Vol. 1, Paintings: American, British, Dutch, Flemish and German. New York, 1968: 1:298.

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. Washington, 1968: 122, repro.

1969

  • Sutton, Peter C. "Pleasure for the Aesthete." Apollo 90 (September 1969): 230-239.

1973

  • Fahy, Everett, and Francis John Bagott Watson. The Wrightsman Collection. Vol. 5: Paintings, drawings, sculpture. New York, 1973: 316, repro.

  • Mistler, Jean. Vermeer. Collection Le Peintre et l’Homme. Paris, 1973: no. 22, color repro.

1974

  • Canfield, Cass. The Incredible Pierpont Morgan: Financier and Art Collector. New York, 1974: 107, 169, repro.

  • Grimme, Ernst Günther. Jan Vermeer van Delft. Cologne, 1974: 77, no. 27, fig. 18.

1975

  • Blankert, Albert. Johannes Vermeer van Delft, 1632-1675. Utrecht, 1975: 11, 36, 82-84, 109, 153-154, no. 20, pl. 20.

  • National Gallery of Art. European paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. Washington, 1975: 362-363, repro.

1976

  • Wright, Christopher. Vermeer. London, 1976: 12, 42, 44, 81, no. 16, repro.

  • Daulte, François. Chefs-d'oeuvre de musées des États-Unis: de Giorgione à Picasso. Exh. cat. Musée Marmottan, Paris, 1976: no. 18, color repro.

  • Bessonova, Marina A. Zapadnoevropeiskaia i Amerikanskaia zhivopis is muzeev ssha [West European and American painting from the Museums of USA]. Exh. cat. Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg; Pushkin Museum, Moscow; State Museum Kiev; State Museum Minsk. Moscow, 1976: unpaginated and unnumbered.

1977

  • Menzel, Gerhard W. Vermeer. Leipzig, 1977: 68, fig. 65.

  • 1977 Annual Report. National Gallery of Art. Washington, D.C., 1977: 47, repro.

  • Straaten, Evert van. Johannes Vermeer, 1632-1675. Een Delfts schilder en de cultuur van zijn tijd. The Hague, 1977: 48-49, fig. 60.

1978

  • King, Marian. Adventures in Art: National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. New York, 1978: 53, pl. 30.

  • Blankert, Albert. Vermeer of Delft: Complete Edition of the Paintings. Oxford, 1978: 25, 54, 56, 73, 164, no. 20, figs. 20-20a.

1981

  • Slatkes, Leonard J. Vermeer and His Contemporaries. New York, 1981: 70-71, repro.

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Jan Vermeer. New York, 1981: 124-127, no. 31, color pls. 31, 32 (detail).

1982

  • Reitlinger, Gerald. The Economics of Taste: The Rise and Fall of Picture Prices, 1760–1960. 3 vols. Reprint. New York, 1982: 1:483.

1984

  • Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 300, no. 399, color repro.

1985

  • National Gallery of Art. European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. Washington, 1985: 421, repro.

1986

  • Aillaud, Gilles, Albert Blankert, and John Michael Montias. Vermeer. Paris, 1986: 11, 46, 52, 85, 132, 189-190, no. 20, pl. 22.

1987

  • Kokuritsu Seiyo Bijutsukan. Space in European art. Exh. cat. Keidanren Kaikan, Tokyo, 1987: 86.

1989

  • Montias, John Michael. Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History. Princeton, 1989: 191-192, 196, 256, 266, repro. 44.

  • Obnovlenskaia, N.G. Masterpieces of western European painting of the XVIth-XXth centuries from the museums of the European countries and USA. Exh. cat. State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad, 1989: no. 14, repro.

1990

  • Broos, Ben P. J., ed. Great Dutch Paintings from America. Exh. cat. Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague; Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. The Hague and Zwolle, 1990: 456-461, no. 67, color repro. 457.

1991

  • Nash, John. Vermeer. London, 1991: color repro. 34, 36-37.

  • Buijsen, Edwin. "Een terugblik op 'De kunst van het verzamelen'." In De Kunst van het Verzamelen. Cahier 2. Edited by Edwin Buijsen. The Hague, 1991: 7-12, repro.

  • Liedtke, Walter A. "America and Dutch Art." In De kunst van het verzamelen. Edited by Edwin Buijsen. The Hague, 1991: 21-29, repro.

1992

  • Dawson, Deidre. "Visual Image and Verbal Text: Reflections on the Letter in Seventeenth- and Eighteenth-Century Painting." Semiotic Inquiry 12 (1992): 157-162, repro.

1993

  • Schulze, Sabine. Leselust: niederländische Malerei von Rembrandt bis Vermeer. Exh. cat. Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt. Stuttgart, 1993: no. 85.

  • Schneider, Norbert. Jan Vermeer 1632-1675: Verhüllung der Gefühle. Cologne, 1993: 94-95, no. 52, repro.

1994

  • Knafou, Rémy. Vermeer: mystère du quotidien. Paris, 1994: 46, repro.

1995

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr., and Ben P. J. Broos. Johannes Vermeer. Edited by Arthur K. Wheelock, Jr. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis, The Hague. Zwolle, 1995: no. 13, repro., 27, 61, 77, 150, 156-159, 170, 200.

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Vermeer and the Art of Painting. New Haven, 1995: 145, no. A22, repro. 179.

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, 1995: 377-382, color repro. 379.

  • Bailey, Martin. Vermeer. London, 1995: no. 27, 84-86, repro.

  • Wright, Christopher. Vermeer: catalogue raisonné. London, 1995: no. 18, 38-39, repro.

1996

  • Hunter, Sam, and Melissa de Mederios. The Rise of the Art World in America: Knoedler at 150. Exh. cat. M. Knoedler & Company, New York, 1996: 13.

  • Kleinau, Elke, and Claudia Opitz. Geschichte der Mädchen- und Frauenbildung. 2 vols. Frankfurt am Main, 1996: 1:cover repro.

  • Larsen, Erik. Jan Vermeer. Translated by Tania Gargiulo. Biblioteca d'arte. Florence, 1996: no. 18, 73, 104, repro.

  • Buijsen, Edwin. "Music in the Age of Vermeer." In Dutch Society in the Age of Vermeer. Edited by Donald Haks and Marie Christine van der Sman. Exh. cat. Haags Historisch Museum, The Hague. Zwolle, 1996: 106, 111, repro.

  • Netta, Irene. Das Phänomen Zeit bei Jan Vermeer van Delft: eine Analyse der innerbildlichen Zeitstrukturen seiner ein- und mehrfigurigen Interieurbilder. Studien zur Kunstgeschichte 105. Hildesheim, 1996: 270, repro.

  • Chalumeau, Jean Luc. Vermeer, 1632-1675. Découvrons l'art - XVIIe siècle 1. Paris, 1996: no. 28, repro.

1997

  • Gowing, Lawrence. Vermeer. 3rd ed. London, 1997: no. 42, repro.

  • Scholz, Georg. Lyrische Bilder: Gedichte nach Gemälden von Jan Vermeer. Munich, 1997: 36, repro.

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Vermeer: The Complete Works. New York, 1997: 44-45, no. 20, repro.

1998

  • Gifford, Melanie E. "Painting Light: Recent Observations on Vermeer's Technique." In Vermeer Studies. Edited by Ivan Gaskell and Michiel Jonker. Studies in the History of Art 55 (1998): 184 unnumbered fig. (detail), 185-199, fig. 2.

  • Montias, John Michael. "Recent archival research on Vermeer." In Vermeer Studies. Edited by Ivan Gaskell and Michiel Jonker. Studies in the History of Art 55. Washington, 1998: 185-199.

1999

  • Sweet, Christopher. The Essential Johannes Vermeer. New York, 1999: 78-80, repro.

  • Kahng, Eik. "Félix Vallotton's Photographic Realism." In The artist and the camera : Degas to Picasso. Edited by Dorothy M. Kosinski. Exh. cat. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Dallas Museum of Art; Fundación del Museo Guggenheim, Bilbao. New Haven, 1999: 228-229, repro.

  • Shimada, Norio, and Haruko Ota. Masterpieces from the National Gallery of Art, Washington. Exh. cat. Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum. Tokyo, 1999: no. 83, 157, repro.

2000

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. The Public and the Private in the Age of Vermeer. Exh. cat. Osaka Municipal Museum of Art. London, 2000: 202, no. 20, repro.

  • Strouse, Jean. "J. Pierpont Morgan: Financier and Collector." Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 57 (Winter 2000): 31.

2001

  • Franits, Wayne E., ed. The Cambridge companion to Vermeer. Cambridge, England, and New York, 2001: pl. 21, 168, 169-170, 172.

  • Liedtke, Walter A., Michiel Plomp, and Axel Rüger. Vermeer and the Delft school. Exh. cat. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; National Gallery, London. New Haven, 2001: 162-163, repro.

  • Wolf, Bryan Jay. Vermeer and the Invention of Seeing. Chicago, 2001: 143-144. repro.

  • Netta, Irene. Vermeer's world: an artist and his town. Pegasus Library. Munich and New York, 2001: 86, repro.

  • Westermann, Mariët, et al. Art & Home: Dutch interiors in the age of Rembrandt. Exh. cat. Denver Art Museum; Newark Museum. Zwolle, 2001: no. 88, 15, 72-73, 151, repro.

2002

  • Bailey, Anthony. Vermeer. Translated by Bettina Blumenberg. Berlin, 2002: color repro. between 160 and 161.

2003

  • Sutton, Peter C., Lisa Vergara, and Ann Jensen Adams. Love letters: Dutch genre paintings in the age of Vermeer. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin; Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Greenwich, Connecticut. London, 2003: no. 38, 54-55, 181-184, repro.

  • Lisboa, Maria Manuel. Paula Rego's map of memory: national and sexual politics. Burlington, Vermont, 2003: 100-101, repro.

  • Vergara, Alejandro. Vermeer y el interior holandés. Exh. cat. Museo nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2003: 37-39, 209, color repro.

2004

  • Hand, John Oliver. National Gallery of Art: Master Paintings from the Collection. Washington and New York, 2004: 210, no. 165, color repro.

  • Giltaij, Jeroen. Senses and sins: Dutch painters of daily life in the seventeenth century. Exh. cat. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; Städelsches Kunstinstitut und Städelsche Galerie, Frankfurt am Main. Ostfildern-Ruit, 2004: cover, no. 69, 249-250, repro.

  • Cabanne, Pierre. Vermeer. Translated by John Tittensor. Paris, 2004: 179-180, repro.

2005

  • Wright, Christopher. Vermeer. Rev. ed. London, 2005: 44-45, color repro.

2008

  • Liedtke, Walter A. Vermeer: the complete paintings. Ghent, 2008: 47-48, fig. 37 (detail), no. 20, 122-126, color repro.

2009

  • Binstock, Benjamin. Vermeer's Family Secrets: Genius, Discovery, and the Unknown Apprentice. New York, 2009: 209-210, 212, 221, 241, 259, 261, 267, 272, 277-279, 282, 286, pl. 12c, repro. 210 (detail).

2011

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr., and Daniëlle H.A.C. Lokin. Human Connections in the Age of Vermeer. Exh. cat. Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai; Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo. London, 2011: cover (detail), repro. 10 (detail), 21, no. 42, 130-132, repro. 131.

  • Wieseman, Marjorie E. Vermeer's Women: Secrets and Silence. Exh. cat. Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. New Haven, 2011: 51-52, repro.

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr., and Daniëlle H.A.C. Lokin. Communication: Visualizing the Human Connection in the Age of Vermeer. Japanese ed. Exh. cat. Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art; Miyagi Museum of Art, Sendai; Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo. Tokyo, 2011: repro. 6 (detail), 24 fig. 11, repro. 154 (detail), 172-173, no. 41, repro. 174-175 (detail), 196-197.

2012

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr., Walter A. Liedtke, and Sandrina Bandera Bistoletti. Vermeer: il secolo d'oro dell'arte olandese. Exh. cat. Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome. Milan, 2012: 68, 69 fig. 26.

2021

  • Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. "Vermeer becoming Vermeer." Artibus et historiae 84 (2021): 308, 311, color fig. 3.

2022

  • Georgievska-Shine, Aneta. Vermeer and the Art of Love. London, 2022: 104-105, 107-108, color fig. 77.

  • Gifford, Melanie, Dina Anchin, Alexandra Libby, Marjorie E. Wieseman, Kathryn A. Dooley, Lisha Deming Glinsman, and John K. Delaney, "First Steps in Vermeer’s Creative Process: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art." Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 14, no. 2 (Summer 2022): figs. 1, 7, 17-10, 26-39, 42-45, 53-59, and 61-65.

  • Libby, Alexandra, E. Melanie Gifford, Dina Anchin, Marjorie E. Wieseman, Kathryn A. Dooley, Lisha Deming Glinsman, and John K. Delaney. "Experimentation and Innovation in Vermeer’s Girl with the Red Hat: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art." Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 14, no. 2 (Summer 2022): figs. 3, 4, 16, 29, 31, 34, 35, 40, 43, 45, 57.

  • Gifford, E. Melanie, Kathryn A. Dooley, and John K. Delaney. "Methodology & Resources: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art." Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art. 14, no. 2 (Summer 2022): figs. 1, b, c, 28, 32-36, 45, 49, and 50.

  • Wieseman, Marjorie E. "Exhibitions." Art for the Nation no. 66 (Fall 2022): 38, repro.

Inscriptions

center left on frame of picture on back wall: IVMEER (IVM in ligature)

Wikidata ID

Q914984

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