Modern Girls Writing Letters

Giovanni Boldini 1

Young Woman WritingDate?Larin, Guilloux and Buffetaud, ParisOil on panel23 x 16.5 cm 
The lady here is turned away from her viewer, eschewing contact, refusing to let us into her room. She writes furiously, alone in the bare but opulent room, covered in rich textile. We're spying into a quiet, private moment, much the way we're a bit voyeuristic looking into Vermeer's A Lady Writing. In Vermeer's work, though, at least our glance is met, our presence is not a secret. Here, our only fate is to look on, as she ignores us, or as she concentrates so hard on her task that she doesn't hear us. 
In portraying quiet moments of solitude as a lady writes a letter, thinking of Vermeer is all but impossible. Who knows how much Vermeer influenced Boldini, or if he was privy to the painting that preceded his. The reference, though is a clear one. As the lady concentrates, her task is elevated, she becomes Vermeer's modern woman: a highlighted lady in rich fabrics, concentrating upon her task so that we may never read her expression. 

Milton Avery 2

Girl Writing, 1943

Oil on Canvas

48 x 31 3/4

In examining an artist's legacy, it is impossible to know how many works were spawned as a result. Here, in Milton Avery's Girl Writing, an anonymous girl turns her head toward her writing, and delves in. Her body position is turned from A Lady Writing, flipped so that she is facing the other way, however, she sits at a desk the same way. The vase is clearly seen behind her, but the other details are absent, taupe-green walls, plain floors. The hint of a near Vermeer-blue pops up behind her, supporting the vase of flowers. Again, she does not hear us, or she is ignoring us. She is lit in a stark white, with no source of light to be seen. The moment is quiet, despite all the bright details. This could well be a modern take on the Dutch painting, or at least the Dutch convention of painting letter writing.




1"Giovanni Boldini 's Young Woman Writing." John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://jssgallery.org/other_artists/boldini_giovanni/Young_Woman_Writing.htm>.
2 "Milton Avery - Girl Writing." The Phillips Collection. Web. 10 May 2011. <http://www.phillipscollection.org/research/american_art/artwork/Avery-Girl_Writing.htm>.

Intellectuals

The Guitar Player
c. 1670-72
oil on canvas
20 1/4 x 18 1/4 in. (53 x 46.3 cm.)
Kenwood, English Heritage as
Trustees of the Iveagh Bequest


Painted a few years after A Lady Writing, this Vermeer shows a woman in that same yellow and fur jacket engaged in an intellectual activity much like writing. She is pictured also in a Dutch interior showcasing fabric, white walls, and a painting in the background. This painting, however, is not obscured, rather it is a clear landscape. Her body faces the opposite was as in many Vermeers, and she does not see the viewer, she instead looks to her right, engaged in playing her guitar. The color scheme is similar to A Lady Writing, as is the scale of the composition, and the fact that the woman is performing an intellectual task. 


"THE GUITAR PLAYER by Johannes Vermeer." Essential Vermeer. Web. 9 May 2011. <http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/guitar_player.html>.

Literacy in the Netherlands

The Love Letter 1

c. 1667-1670
oil on canvas
17 3/8 x 15 1/8 in. (44 x 38.5.cm)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

"With the unparalleled surge in literacy in the Netherlands, common women, for the first time, committed their feelings to paper. First person statements in the Dutch Republic, including letter writing, private diaries, journals, soul searching poems and self-portraits, proliferated far beyond their Renaissance role in aristocratic culture."2


Jonathon Janson, essentialvermeer.com


In reference to The Love Letter, circa 1667-1670, this passage from essentialvermeer.com is also applicable to A Lady Writing. The newly important trend of literacy and letter writing and reading is important for understanding when Vermeer felt so comfortable painting women reading and writing. The same colors as in A Lady Writing are available in this painting, though the girl is not alone. There is a communication between the maid and the mistress, just as there is a conversation between the lady and the audience in A Lady Writing. 


1 "Love Letter - Rijksmuseum Amsterdam - Museum for Art and History." Rijksmuseum Amsterdam - Museum of Art and History. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.rijksmuseum.nl/aria/aria_assets/SK-A-1595?lang=en>.
2 Janson, Jonathon. "THE LOVE LETTER by Johannes Vermeer." Essential Vermeer. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/love_letter.html>.

Vermeer's Women

Vermeer1
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, c. 1662-1665
oil on canvas
18 1/4 x 15 3/8 in. (46.5 x 39 cm.)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam


The composition of Woman in Blue Reading a Letter  is strikingly similar to that of A Lady Writing. In both, a woman's body faces an unseen light source as she partakes in an activity. Chairs sit behind and around her, a map/artwork hangs on the far wall. Vermeer's typical blue shows up, as does the special lighting one comes to recognize as Vermeer's. Many of the women Vermeer paints are in this same basic position, in the same color garments, in similar interior settings. Like The Milkmaid, this woman is entranced in her activity, though it is probably not an incredibly important one, though the reader will never know what kind of letter she reads here. This sense of mystery harkens back to most of the Vermeer paintings, and specifically A Lady Writing. 

Johannes Vermeer 2
Woman Holding a Balance, c. 1664
National Gallery of Art
Widener Collection


Again, this same composition is referenced in Vermeer's other work. The light from the left, woman highlighted in the center-right, engaged in a task. Humble and quiet, Vermeer captures a silent moment in which the viewer cannot tell exactly what the woman thinks while she holds the balance. The painting behind her is obscured, the "so-called picture-within-a-picture that appears on the back wall portrays a Last Judgment," (Janson3) by an unknown artist. The woman's pregnant body references Mary, as the ray of sunshine hits her belly and chest, creating an eerie, heavenly highlight, referencing the immaculate conception. 

Vermeer4
Woman With a Pearl Necklace
c. 1664
oil on canvas
21 5/8 x 17 3/4 in. (55 x 45 cm.)
Staatliche Museen Preußischer
Kulturbesitz, Gemäldegalerie, Berlin


In this painting, the woman wears the same treasured yellow and fur jacket that Vermeer paints in A Lady Writing. This time, though, the woman is unaware of the audience, staring into the mirror at herself, primping and putting on a beautiful pearl necklace. With the signature intensity of Vermeer's womens' stares, she concentrates on her reflection, but again with a contemplative, meditative stare. The woman painted looks remarkably similar to the woman in A Lady Writing, as well. Interestingly, the girl is painted in full profile, which is not too common for Vermeer to paint. 




1 Janson, Jonathon. "WOMAN IN BLUE READING A LETTER by Johannes Vermeer."Essential Vermeer. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/woman_in_blue_reading_a_letter.html>.
2 "NGA | Vermeer | Woman Holding a Balance | A Moment Captured." National Gallery of Art. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.nga.gov/feature/vermeer/moment1.shtm>.
3 Janson, Jonathon. "WOMAN HOLDING A BALANCE by Johannes Vermeer." Essential Vermeer. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/woman_holding_a_balance.html>.
4Web Gallery of Art, Image Collection, Virtual Museum, Searchable Database of European Fine Arts (1000-1850). Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/v/vermeer/03a/19woman.html>.

Vermeer's Milkmaid

Vermeer uses the same color palette in most of his paintings, which, like Rembrandt or Rubens, is often an indication of an artist's style of work. In The Milkmaid, Vermeer repeats his yellows and blues, and most importantly, repeats the way the light falls on those colors.

Vermeer 
The Milkmaid, c. 1658-1661
17 7/8 x 16 1/8 in. (45.5 x 41 cm.)
The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam


The quiet moment of the milkmaid carefully and gracefully pouring the milk into a container is easily overlooked if you're used to seeing the massive history paintings of Titian or Rubens, but the painting has so many gems. First, the colors Vermeer uses are beautiful, even pointlessly beautiful, as a milkmaid probably would not have donned this expensive blue apron. The humble moment, like writing a letter, is transformed into a blissful task. The viewer is aware of the meditative quality of the activity, again as in A Lady Writing. The slightly dingy background contrasts the beautiful colors. The sunlight through the window is coming in from the same angle and side that it enters the composition of A Lady Writing. 




Janson, Jonathon. "THE MILKMAID by Johannes Vermeer." Essential Vermeer. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/milkmaid.html>.

Vermeer and Love Letters

The subject of women writing love letters was in vogue at the time Vermeer painted A Lady Writing. Several artists in the same general time span painted women writing letters, ostensibly to suitors.

Gabriel Metsu 1

A Woman Writing a Letter, c. 1662–4
Oil on panel, 39.4 x 31.1cm
Image © IGRAT 2006 LLC

Gerard ter Borch 2

Woman Writing a Letter, c. 1655

Oil on panel, 39 x 29.5 cm

The convention of painting women who write letters to their loved ones or to suitors could have directly influenced Vermeer in painting A Lady Writing. Certainly he broke conventions at the time, but if this style was a popular one, it would not have been surprising for a gentleman painter to paint something along these lines. Since these two paintings were most likely painted before Vermeer painted his, they could definitely have influenced his decision.

1 "Gabriel Metsu at the National Gallery of Ireland | A Woman Writing a Letter." National Gallery of Ireland | 'Gabriel Metsu - Rediscovered Master of the Dutch Golden Age'Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.gabrielmetsuexhibition.com/gallery.php?img=aWomanWritingALetter>.

2 Woman Writing a Letter. 1655. Mauritshuis, The Royal Picture Gallery, The Hague.Mauritshuis Museum. Web. 8 May 2011. <http://www.mauritshuis.nl/index.aspx?chapterid=2347&contentID=18297&CollectieZoekKunstenaarSsOtName=Achternaam&CollectieZoekKunstenaarSsOv=Borch%&KunstenaarSsOtName=Achternaam&KunstenaarSsOv=Borch%&kunstenaar=Gerard%20ter%20Borch&naamKunstenaar=GerardBorch>.

Vermeer's Modern Legacy

Asking what Vermeer's relevance is in the Post-Postmodern world is a tricky question to answer. Certainly, Vermeer is known for his ability to create a stunning light, a humble moment of quietude, and some very interesting ladies, but what more inspires artists in this day and age? Hendrik Kerstens, a modern day photographer in Amsterdam, who has won awards and been published several times, takes a slightly different message from Vermeer.

Kerstens' photographs are inspired by 17th century Dutch artists, most notably Vermeer.

Kerstens takes his photographs of his daughter, who poses much like Vermeer's women do. The stare that might be unpleasant, yet transfixing, is captured perfectly. In A Lady Writing, the lady stares with the same intensity as does the subject in Kerstens works. The legacy of the mysteriousness and the intensity of that facial expression is easily reinterpreted as a modern one. He also imbues the serious portraits with some pretty wonderful humor.


http://www.hendrikkerstens.com/index.html