Mistress and Maid (Dutch: Dame en dienstbode) is an oil-on-canvas painting produced by Johannes Vermeer c. 1667. It portrays two women, a mistress and her maid, as they look over the mistress' letter. The painting displays Vermeer's preference for yellow and blue, female models, and domestic scenes. It is now in the Frick Collection in New York City.
Johannes Vermeer was born in 1632 in Delft, Holland.[1] He worked and lived in Delft all his life, although it is possible that he may have done an apprenticeship in another town such as Amsterdam or Utrecht for six years. A major stepping point in Vermeer's career was in 1653 when he joined the Guild of Saint Luke as a master and professional painter. Vermeer painted at a somewhat leisurely pace, producing two to three paintings a year; there are 35 known to exist today. Vermeer is thought to have made use of a camera obscura, which may have influenced the way he often painted highlights as unfocused circles of confusion.[2] Vermeer died at a relatively young age, 43, in 1675. He suffered most likely from a stroke or stress-induced heart attack.[3] The slow rate at which he produced paintings restricted Vermeer from becoming wealthy during his lifetime, and he died in debt.[3]
Descriptionedit
Mistress and Maid was painted during 1666–1667. The painting shows an elegant mistress and her maid as they look over a letter that the mistress just received. There is a strong use of yellow in the woman's elegant fur-lined overcoat, and blue in the silk tablecloth and the maid's apron. The focus of the painting is the two women as they are sitting at a desk, doing an everyday activity. Vermeer was known for his domestic scenes containing women. The light in the painting comes from the left, and falls on the mistress' face. The mistress has a pensive gaze, with her lips parted slightly and her fingertips lifted to her chin in a questioning manner. The lighted parts of the yellow overcoat are formed with sweeping brushstrokes of lead-tin-yellow and the shadows are created with definition. Vermeer uses a dark background, as he does in other paintings such as Portrait of a Young Woman and Girl with a Pearl Earring. Pearls were an important status symbol of the period and that was reflected in the mistress' fancy attire and her abundance of pearls.
Letters are a prevalent theme in Vermeer's paintings from the 1660s. Earlier works, such as Woman in Blue Reading a Letter (c. 1663–4), depict a woman by herself with a letter, but in this painting the added maid is a new element. The gestures and expressions of the two women suggest anxiety over the letter and its potential contents.[4] The painting is well preserved.
Iacono, Margaret; Ivory, James (2018). Vermeer's Mistress and Maid. GILES. ISBN978-1-911282-37-2.
External linksedit
Mistress and Maid at the website of the Frick Collection
January 01, 1970
mistress, maid, 1910, thanhouser, film, film, dutch, dame, dienstbode, canvas, painting, produced, johannes, vermeer, 1667, portrays, women, mistress, maid, they, look, over, mistress, letter, painting, displays, vermeer, preference, yellow, blue, female, mode. For the 1910 Thanhouser film see Mistress and Maid film Mistress and Maid Dutch Dame en dienstbode is an oil on canvas painting produced by Johannes Vermeer c 1667 It portrays two women a mistress and her maid as they look over the mistress letter The painting displays Vermeer s preference for yellow and blue female models and domestic scenes It is now in the Frick Collection in New York City Mistress and Maid c 1667 by Johannes Vermeer Contents 1 Artist 2 Description 3 See also 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksArtist editJohannes Vermeer was born in 1632 in Delft Holland 1 He worked and lived in Delft all his life although it is possible that he may have done an apprenticeship in another town such as Amsterdam or Utrecht for six years A major stepping point in Vermeer s career was in 1653 when he joined the Guild of Saint Luke as a master and professional painter Vermeer painted at a somewhat leisurely pace producing two to three paintings a year there are 35 known to exist today Vermeer is thought to have made use of a camera obscura which may have influenced the way he often painted highlights as unfocused circles of confusion 2 Vermeer died at a relatively young age 43 in 1675 He suffered most likely from a stroke or stress induced heart attack 3 The slow rate at which he produced paintings restricted Vermeer from becoming wealthy during his lifetime and he died in debt 3 Description editMistress and Maid was painted during 1666 1667 The painting shows an elegant mistress and her maid as they look over a letter that the mistress just received There is a strong use of yellow in the woman s elegant fur lined overcoat and blue in the silk tablecloth and the maid s apron The focus of the painting is the two women as they are sitting at a desk doing an everyday activity Vermeer was known for his domestic scenes containing women The light in the painting comes from the left and falls on the mistress face The mistress has a pensive gaze with her lips parted slightly and her fingertips lifted to her chin in a questioning manner The lighted parts of the yellow overcoat are formed with sweeping brushstrokes of lead tin yellow and the shadows are created with definition Vermeer uses a dark background as he does in other paintings such as Portrait of a Young Woman and Girl with a Pearl Earring Pearls were an important status symbol of the period and that was reflected in the mistress fancy attire and her abundance of pearls Letters are a prevalent theme in Vermeer s paintings from the 1660s Earlier works such as Woman in Blue Reading a Letter c 1663 4 depict a woman by herself with a letter but in this painting the added maid is a new element The gestures and expressions of the two women suggest anxiety over the letter and its potential contents 4 The painting is well preserved See also editList of paintings by Johannes Vermeer Girl with a Pearl Earring Portrait of a Young WomanReferences edit WebMuseum Vermeer Jan Ibiblio org 2002 10 14 Retrieved 2013 06 29 Wheelock Arthur K 1995 Johannes Vermeer Washington DC National Gallery of Art p 162 ISBN 0894682199 a b Girl With a Pearl Earring The Story Tracy Chevalier Tchevalier com Retrieved 2013 06 29 Wheelock Arthur K 1995 Johannes Vermeer Washington DC National Gallery of Art p 182 ISBN 0894682199 About Vermeer Tracy Chevalier N p Dec 2011 Web 8 Mar 2012 Janson Jonathon Mistress and Maid Essential Vermeer N p 2011 Web 8 Mar 2012 Pioch Nicolas Jan Vermeer WebMuseum Paris N p 14 Oct 2002 Web 8 Mar 2012Further reading edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mistress and Maid Vermeer Liedtke Walter A 2001 Vermeer and the Delft School Metropolitan Museum of Art ISBN 9780870999734 Iacono Margaret Ivory James 2018 Vermeer s Mistress and Maid GILES ISBN 978 1 911282 37 2 External links editMistress and Maid at the website of the Frick Collection Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mistress and Maid amp oldid 1189494604, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
