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Vermeer's Masterpiece The Milkmaid
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Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675)
The Milkmaid, about 1657–58
Oil on canvas; 17 7/8 x 16 1/8 in. (45.5 x 41 cm)
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Purchase, 1908, with aid from the Rembrandt Society
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The Milkmaid stands on the threshold between Vermeer's early work and his mature style. Its illusionism recalls that of Leiden artists like Gerrit Dou (1613–1675), Frans van Mieris, and Gabriël Metsu (see next image), but the classic balance of the composition and the extraordinary treatment of light are already distinctive of Vermeer and Delft. Nowhere else in his oeuvre does one find such a sculptural figure and such seemingly tangible objects, and yet the future painter of luminous interiors has already arrived. As if conforming to the play between optical and tactile qualities throughout the picture, the pointillé pattern of bright dots on the bread and basket, Vermeer's most effusive use of the scheme, suggests scintillating daylight and rough textures at the same time.
The steady performance of domestic chores (here, possibly making bread porridge) was often praised in Dutch literature and pictures. But the playful image of Cupid next to the foot warmer (see detail)—which can also be a symbol of amorous thoughts—suggests that the robust young woman may be daydreaming about a man. For a male viewer of the period (in this case, Vermeer's patron Pieter van Ruijven), the hints of sexuality would have given the painting an element of fantasy as subtle as the shadows on the whitewashed walls.
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