art.wikisort.org - Painting

Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid (Dutch: Schrijvende vrouw met dienstbode) is a painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, completed in 1670–1671 and held in the National Gallery of Ireland, in Dublin. The work shows a middle-class woman attended by a housemaid who is presumably acting as messenger and go-between for the lady and her lover. The work is seen as a bridge between the quiet restraint and self-containment of Vermeer's work of the 1660s and his relatively cooler work of the 1670s. It may have been partly inspired by Ter Borch's painting Woman Sealing a Letter.[1] The painting's canvas was almost certainly cut from the same bolt used for Woman with a Lute.[2]

Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid
Artist	Johannes Vermeer
Year	c. 1670-1671
Medium	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	71.1 cm × 60.5 cm (28.0 in × 23.8 in)
Location	National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid is the first of the artist's experiments with centrifugal composition; where the focus is not only from the centre of the canvas.[3] In addition, it is his third work in which the drama and dynamic is not centred on a single figure.[4] The maid is shown standing in the mid-ground, behind her lady, with her hands crossed and waiting for the letter to be completed. The positions of their bodies indicate that the two women are disconnected. The folded arms of the maid seem outwardly as an attempt to display a sense of self-containment, however she is detached from her lady both emotionally and psychologically.[3] The maid's gaze towards the half-visible window indicates an inner restlessness and boredom, as she waits impatiently for the messenger to carry her lady's letter away.[5] Some art historians dispute the absoluteness of this view; according to Pascal Bonafoux, while complicity is not "indicated by a look or a smile" from either woman, the mere fact of her presence during such an intimate act as the composition of a love letter indicates at least a degree of intimacy between the two.[4]

The painting visits many of Vermeer's usual painterly motifs; in particular his obsession with the inside/outside axis of interior spaces,[5] and through his description of the tiled floor as well as the verticals of the dresses, window frame and back wall painting, his interest in geometry and abstract form. Vermeer had experimented with this painterly device earlier in his career, notably in his View of Delft, The Lacemaker and The Art of Painting.[6]

Lady Writing was stolen on 27 April 1974, along with a Goya, two Gainsboroughs and three Rubens from the Russborough House home of Sir Alfred Beit by armed members of the IRA.[7] Led by the British heiress Rose Dugdale, the thieves used screwdrivers to cut the paintings from their frames.[8] However, the Vermeer and other works were recovered eight days later at a cottage in County Cork. The work was again taken in 1986 by a gang led by the Dublin gangster Martin Cahill.[9] Along with a number of other art-works, Cahill held the painting for a ransom of IR£20 million. However, the money was not paid, and Cahill lacked contacts or knowledge to otherwise pass it on to international art thieves. According to a RTÉ report, Cahill's taste in art extended only to "cheery scenes like the cheap print in his living room of swans on a river, but he believed the stolen masterpieces would bring him a fortune."[9] The painting was eventually recovered during an August 1993 exchange at Antwerp airport which turned out to be a sting operation organised by the Irish police. It had already been donated in absentia to the National Gallery in Dublin.[10][11]

Notes

Sources

• Bonafoux, Pascal. Vermeer. New York: Konecky & Konecky, 1992. ISBN 1-56852-308-4
• Hart, Matthew. The Irish Game. London: Random House, 2004. ISBN 0-09-947457-3
• Huerta, Robert. Vermeer and Plato: Painting the Ideal. Bucknell University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-8387-5606-9
• Pollock, Griselda. Differencing the canon. Routledge, 1999. ISBN 0-415-06699-9
• Wheelock, Arthur K. Vermeer: The Complete Works. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1997. ISBN 0-8109-2751-9

Further reading

• Liedtke, Walter A. (2001). Vermeer and the Delft School. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0-87099-973-4.

External links

• Woman Writing a Letter, with her Maid at the website of the National Gallery of Ireland

На других языках

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[de] Briefschreiberin und Dienstmagd

Briefschreiberin und Dienstmagd ist ein von Jan Vermeer im Jahre 1670 gemaltes Ölgemälde. Das 71 Zentimeter hohe und 59 Zentimeter breite Bild zeigt eine Briefschreiberin und eine Dienstmagd vor einem Fenster. Heute hängt das Gemälde in der Sammlung der National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin.

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- [en] Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid

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[es] Una dama escribe una carta con su sirvienta

Una dama escribe una carta con su sirvienta[1] (en neerlandés Schrijvende vrouw met dienstbode) es una obra del pintor neerlandés Johannes Vermeer realizada entre 1670 y 1671. Se encuentra en la Galería Nacional de Irlanda, en Dublín.

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[fr] Femme écrivant une lettre et sa servante

La Femme écrivant une lettre et sa servante (en néerlandais, Schrijvende vrouw met dienstbode) est une peinture de genre du peintre baroque néerlandais Johannes Vermeer, réalisée vers 1670-1671. Il s’agit d’une huile sur toile de 71,1 × 60,5 cm actuellement exposée à la Galerie nationale d'Irlande de Dublin. L'œuvre est signée sur le papier dépassant de la table, sous l'avant-bras droit de la jeune femme écrivant.

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[it] Donna che scrive una lettera alla presenza della domestica

La Donna che scrive una lettera alla presenza della domestica è un dipinto a olio su tela (72,2x59,7 cm) di Jan Vermeer, databile al 1671 circa e conservato nella National Gallery of Ireland di Dublino. È firmato sul foglio che sporge dal tavolo "IV Meer".

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[ru] Дама, пишущая письмо, со своей служанкой

«Дама, пишущая письмо, со своей служанкой» — картина Яна Вермеера, написанная в 1670—1671 годах. На картине изображена женщина со своей горничной, предположительно выступающей посредницей в её переписке с любовником. Работа считается предваряющей последний период Вермеера 1670-х годов, когда его живопись стала отличаться большей сдержанностью и сухостью.

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