The milkmaid

Intent on her task, the kitchen maid pours milk from a jug. The composition radiates a quiet calm, the only movement being the flow of milk into the bowl. Its most exceptional feature is the rendering of light. The tiny dots representing the reflection of light - as in the br eadrolls on the table - are typical of Vermeer's technique. This painting is a high point within Vermeer's oeuvre. Of the thirty or so works he produced, four are in the Rijksmuseum. From the collections of J. Dissius (Delft), L. P. de Neufville, H. Muilman, L. van Winter and J. Six (Amsterdam), among others. Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt from the heirs of J.H. Six van Vromade, 1908.