A Young Woman standing at a Virginal

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London A richly dressed young woman standing at a virginal is looking expectantly at the viewer.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London She has her back turned to the window at the left, from which cool daylight is flooding in.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London Vermeer has created subtle light effects on the picture frames on the wall...

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London ... the floor tiles...

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London ...the empty chair in the foreground...

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London ... and most importantly on the woman’s satin skirt.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London Although only one corner of the room is visible, the paintings on the wall, the marble-tiled floor and the skirting with blue-and-white Delft tiles identify this interior as a prosperous Dutch home.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London In addition, the musical instrument is a particularly luxurious model of virginal with a painted landscape decorating the inside of the lid.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London One of the paintings on the wall shows Cupid holding up a card, providing the scene with additional meaning and affirming the common association of music with love in Dutch paintings. The figure derives from a popular emblem, which alludes to faithful love.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London As with most of Vermeer's work, the painting is undated. However, painting style and the woman’s costume indicate that this is a late work of about 1670.

Window

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London Vermeer has a compositional preference for single figures in a corner of a room with a window at the left. But here, instead of the warm and diffused light of earlier paintings, crisp white light floods through the leaded glass windows...

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London ... bringing out the bluish light effects on the white wall...

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London ... the sharp ridges on the folds of the satin skirt...

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London ... and the hard edges of the virginal.

Woman’s face

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London The room is bathed in clear light, but intriguingly the woman is turned away from the light source, her face appearing in indirect half-light. Vermeer achieved this light effect by using green earth pigment applied over flesh colours.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London The lady’s facial expression is hard to read. With the faintest of smiles she seems to be looking expectantly at the viewer. At the same time she gives an impression of remaining somewhat reserved and distant.

Frame

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London It was long believed that the convincingly modelled light effects on this carved gilt frame were deliberately painted with a thick impasto in order to refract light. However, under the microscope the effect is shown to be a result of lumpy particles protruding through the paint surface. Technical examination identified these particles as a product of chemical reactions between the lead pigments and an oily binding medium.

Painting-within-paintings 1

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London The rugged landscape on the inside of the instrument’s lid was identified as a painting by the Delft artist Pieter Groenewegen. Interestingly, the smaller upright format landscape in the gilt frame on the wall derives from the same painting.

Painting-within-painting 2

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London The figure painting in the background shows Cupid standing in a landscape...

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London ... holding up a playing card or tablet.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London The motif is adopted from a well-known emblem book by Otto van Veen, entitled ‘Only One’ with a verse praising fidelity in matters of love. The painting’s style is reminiscent of Caesar van Everdingen, but no such painting has been identified in the artist’s oeuvre. It may be a painting of Cupid mentioned in the inventory drawn up in 1676 of the possessions of Vermeer’s widow.Similar paintings appear in other works by Vermeer ( Girl Interrupted at Her Music , The Frick Collection, New York; A Maid Asleep , The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York).

Tiles

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London The skirting in this room incorporates blue-and-white Delft tiles, named after Vermeer’s home town, where most pottery manufactories producing the white glazed earthenware imitating Chinese porcelain were based during the painter’s lifetime. Each tile is painted with single figures or boats.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London Little cupids engaging in various activities add to the paintings underlying theme of love.

Instrument

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London The depicted virginal is of a muselar type with the keyboard situated to the right of the centre. This instrument produces a characteristically warm sound.Vermeer shows a particularly luxurious model with a painted lid, as opposed to the more common examples that were decorated with patterned paper with a printed motto.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London It is not clear whether the woman is actually in the act of playing.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London Her position seems to suggest that she is resting her fingers lightly on the keys without movement.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London She might have paused to address the viewer.Music is often related to love in Dutch paintings and the virginal, in particular, carried associations of pure love.

Chair

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London Light falls onto and draws attention to the empty chair in the foreground. This could be read as an invitation to the viewer to join the woman in a musical duet and to join her in the pursuit of harmonious love.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London The ultramarine pigment of the blue upholstery of the chair has blanched over time and would originally have appeared more vivid, giving the chair even more emphasis.

Jewellery and costume

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London The woman wears a pearl necklace around her neck.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London Her fashionable dress is composed of a yellow satin skirt...

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London ... and her blue bodice is edged around the shoulders in lace.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London Red ribbons decorate her sleeves at the elbow and shoulder.

A Young Woman standing at a Virginal A Young Woman standing at a Virginal by Johannes Vermeer The National Gallery, London Just like the expensive instrument, the elaborate costume and accessories suggest that the protagonist in this painting belongs to the well-to-do echelons of society.