Lady Seated at a Virginal
Lady Seated at a Virginal | |
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Artist | Johannes Vermeer |
Year | c. 1670–1672[1] |
Medium | Oil on canvas |
Movement | Dutch Golden Age painting |
Dimensions | 51.5 cm × 45.5 cm (20.3 in × 17.9 in)[1] |
Location | National Gallery, London |
Lady Seated at a Virginal (Dutch: Zittende virginaalspeelster), also known as Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, is a genre painting created by the Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer in about 1670–1672 and now in the National Gallery, London.[2]
Lady Seated at a Virginal
Another painting, probably also by Johannes Vermeer known as A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals, belongs to a private collection shows also a young woman seated at a virginal. This painting and Lady Seated at a Virginal are quite separate works, and as each are known by alternate names confusion between them may exist.
Description
The picture shows a woman facing left and playing a virginal. In the left foreground is a viola da gamba holding a bow between its strings.[2] A landscape is painted on the inside lid of the virginal, and the painting on the wall is either the original or a copy of The Procuress by Dirck van Baburen (c. 1622, now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston), which belonged to Vermeer's mother-in-law.[2] The painting is 51.5 by 45.5 centimetres (20.3 in × 17.9 in).
Commentary
Because of its style, the painting has been dated to about 1670. It has been suggested that it and Lady Standing at a Virginal (also owned by the National Gallery) may have been created as pendants, because their sizes, date and subject matter are all similar. A recent study has shown that the canvas for the two paintings also came from the same bolt.[3] In addition, the ground applied to the canvas appears identical to that used for both the Lady Standing and the New York Young Woman Seated.[4] However their provenances before the 19th century differ, and Vermeer sometimes varied a theme in otherwise unrelated paintings. In the 19th century, both paintings were owned by the art critic Théophile Thoré, whose writings led to a resurgence of interest in Vermeer starting in 1866. The painting entered the National Gallery with the Salting Bequest in 1910.[2]
The painting is one of several works by Vermeer featuring keyboard instruments, including The Music Lesson, The Concert, and Lady Standing at a Virginal. Scholars believe these may all be based on the same instrument, built by Johannes Ruckers.[5][6]
See also
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References
- ^ a b "Key facts: A Young Woman seated at a Virginal". National Gallery (London) web site. Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
- ^ a b c d "A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal". National Gallery, London web site. Retrieved 20 September 2009.
- ^ Liedtke, Walter; Johnson, C. Richard Jr.; Johnson, Don H. "Canvas matches in Vermeer: a case study in the computer analysis of canvas supports" (PDF). Retrieved 5 May 2013.
- ^ Sheldon, Libby; Costaras, Nicolas (2006). "Johannes Vermeer's Young Woman Seated at a Virginal". Burlington Magazine. 148: 89–97.
- ^ Bennett, William Ralph Jr. (4 September 2018). The Science of Musical Sound. Springer. p. 82. ISBN 9783319927961.
- ^ Huerta, Robert D. (2003). Giants of Delft: Johannes Vermeer and the Natural Philosophers: the Parallel Search for Knowledge During the Age of Discovery. Bucknell University Press. p. 105. ISBN 9780838755389.
Further reading
- Liedtke, Walter A. (2001). Vermeer and the Delft School. Metropolitan Museum of Art. ISBN 978-0-87099-973-4.
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- List of works
- Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (c. 1655)
- Saint Praxedis (c. 1655)
- Diana and Her Companions (c. 1653–1656)
- The Procuress (1656)
- A Girl Asleep (c. 1657)
- Officer and Laughing Girl (c. 1657)
- The Little Street (c. 1657–1658)
- The Milkmaid (c. 1657–1658)
- Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (c. 1657–1659)
- Girl Interrupted at Her Music (c. 1658–1659)
- The Girl with the Wine Glass (c. 1659–1660)
- The Wine Glass (c. 1660)
- View of Delft (c. 1660–1661)
- Woman with a Water Jug (c. 1660–1662)
- Woman Holding a Balance (c. 1662–1663)
- Woman with a Lute (c. 1662–1663)
- Woman Reading a Letter (c. 1663)
- The Concert (c. 1664)
- Woman with a Pearl Necklace (c. 1664)
- The Music Lesson (c. 1662–1665)
- Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665)
- A Lady Writing a Letter (c. 1665)
- Girl with a Red Hat (c. 1665–1666)
- Study of a Young Woman (c. 1665–1667)
- Mistress and Maid (c. 1667)
- The Art of Painting (c. 1666–1668)
- The Astronomer (c. 1668)
- The Geographer (c. 1668–1669)
- The Lacemaker (c. 1669–1670)
- The Love Letter (c. 1669–1670)
- Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid (c. 1670–1671)
- The Allegory of Faith (c. 1670–1672)
- Lady Seated at a Virginal (c. 1670–1672)
- Lady Standing at a Virginal (c. 1670–1672)
- A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals (c. 1670–1672)
- The Guitar Player (c. 1672)
- Girl with a Flute (c. 1665–1670)
- The Ghost of Vermeer of Delft Which Can Be Used as a Table (1934 painting)
- Girl with a Pearl Earring (1999 novel)
- Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003 film)
- Girl with a Pearl Earring (2008 play)
- Maria Thins (mother-in-law)
- Maria de Knuijt and Pieter van Ruijven (patrons)
- Han van Meegeren
- Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
- Delft School (painting)
- Tronie
- Dutch Golden Age painting
- Hockney–Falco thesis
- Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum theft
- Vermeer Centre
- All the Vermeers in New York (1990 film)
- Writing to Vermeer (1999 opera)
- Chasing Vermeer (2004 novel)
- Vermeer's Hat (2008 history book)
- Tim's Vermeer (2013 documentary film)
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