Why it matters
A laughing young woman in a yellow bodice sits with a soldier by an open window, below a large map. Art historians think a painting by Gerard van Honthorst inspired the composition, and that Vermeer may have used a camera obscura for the perspective.
Did you know?
- It was painted around 1657.
- The woman resembles Vermeer's wife, Catharina Bolnes.
- X-rays show Vermeer originally planned a large white collar that would have hidden much of her dress.
Based on the Wikipedia article Officer and Laughing Girl (CC BY-SA 4.0).
