Vermeer and the Portrait II

Vermeer's talent for secrecy inspires more and more thought about who the lady in A Lady Writing was supposed to be, or, rather, how the lady was to be portrayed.

Frans Hals
Portrait of an Elderly Lady, 1633
Andrew W. Mellon Collection
1937.1.67


In a portrait of an unknown elderly lady by Frans Hals, the woman clutches a small book, maybe a bible. That she holds something dear to her, or something that may have identified her is similar to the lady holding the quill in her hand as she writes. The meaning of the writing could certainly be about the lady's affinity for writing or learning, though it could as easily reference absorption in another task, so that the viewer is guessing as to what her emotion is. 






"Portrait of an Elderly Lady - Image." National Gallery of Art. Web. 08 May 2011. <http://www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/timage_f?object=74>.