Why it matters
A woman in a lemon-yellow jacket looks up from her letter, quill still in hand, as if we have just interrupted her. Vermeer keeps the scene sparse, bringing her close to us to emphasise her direct gaze.
Did you know?
- It was painted in the mid-to-late 1660s.
- She wears pearl earrings and a necklace of ten pearls.
- The painting on the wall shows a string instrument, possibly from a still life Vermeer owned.
Based on the Wikipedia article A Lady Writing a Letter (CC BY-SA 4.0).
