Rijksmuseum

De liefdesbrief

Date

c. 1669 - c. 1670

Medium

canvas, oil paint (paint)

Institution

Rijksmuseum

Vermeer chose an unusual vantage point for this painting. From a dim space in the foreground, a glimpse is afforded of another room with a domestic scene. An elegantly dressed woman looks up expectantly at a maidservant, who has just handed her a letter. The seascape on the wall behind them may well allude to the epistle’s subject: during the 17th century, the sea was often compared to love, and the lover to a ship.

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