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>.