Why it matters
A woman in blue reads a letter in front of a map of Holland. It is the only one of Vermeer's interiors in which no corner, floor or ceiling is visible, and the map has been read as a hint that the letter comes from a travelling husband.
Did you know?
- It was painted around 1663.
- It was the Rijksmuseum's first Vermeer.
- The woman may look pregnant, but that may simply be the fashion of the time.
Based on the Wikipedia article Woman Reading a Letter (Vermeer) (CC BY-SA 4.0).
