Lady Seated at a Virginal
Encyclopedia
Lady Seated at a Virginal, also known as Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, is a genre painting
created by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer
in about 1670-1672 and now in the National Gallery, London
.
Both the National Gallery, London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York name their separate paintings of women seated at virginals A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, although they are quite separate works and are each known by alternate names. (The New York museum's painting is also known as A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals
.)
The picture shows a woman facing left and playing a virginal. In the left foreground is a viola da gamba holding a bow between its strings. A landscape is painted on the inside lid of the virginal, and the painting on the wall is either the original or a copy of The Procuress
by Dirck van Baburen
(now in the Museum of Fine Arts
in Boston
), which belonged to Vermeer's mother-in-law. It is unclear whether or how much the subject of The Procuress is intended to reflect on the meaning of this work, although "It is probable that a more general association between music and love is intended." At the upper left, a tapestry is used to frame the scene, and in the lower right the foot of the back wall is decorated with Delft tiles
.
Because of its style, the painting has been dated to about 1670. It has been suggested that it and Lady Standing at a Virginal
(also owned by the National Gallery) may have been created as pendants, because their sizes, date and subject matter are all similar, yet their provenances before the 19th century differ, and Vermeer sometimes varied a theme in otherwise unrelated paintings. In the 19th century, both paintings were owned by the art critic Théophile Thoré, whose writings led to a resurgence of interest in Vermeer starting in 1866. The painting entered the National Gallery with the Salting Bequest in 1910.
Genre painting
Genre works, also called genre scenes or genre views, are pictorial representations in any of various media that represent scenes or events from everyday life, such as markets, domestic settings, interiors, parties, inn scenes, and street scenes. Such representations may be realistic, imagined, or...
created by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
in about 1670-1672 and now in the National Gallery, London
National Gallery, London
The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media...
.
Both the National Gallery, London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York name their separate paintings of women seated at virginals A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, although they are quite separate works and are each known by alternate names. (The New York museum's painting is also known as A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals
A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals
A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals, also known as Young Woman Seated at the Virginals and A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, is a painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer...
.)
The picture shows a woman facing left and playing a virginal. In the left foreground is a viola da gamba holding a bow between its strings. A landscape is painted on the inside lid of the virginal, and the painting on the wall is either the original or a copy of The Procuress
The Procuress (Dirck van Baburen)
The Procuress is the name given to a painting by the Dutch "Golden Age" painter Dirck van Baburen, of which several copies exist. The painting is in the Caravaggiesque style of the Utrecht school....
by Dirck van Baburen
Dirck van Baburen
Dirck Jaspersz. van Baburen was a Dutch painter associated with the Utrecht Caravaggisti.-Biography:Dirck van Baburen was probably born in Wijk bij Duurstede, but his family moved to Utrecht when he was still young. He was also known as Teodoer van Baburen and Theodor Baburen...
(now in the Museum of Fine Arts
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
), which belonged to Vermeer's mother-in-law. It is unclear whether or how much the subject of The Procuress is intended to reflect on the meaning of this work, although "It is probable that a more general association between music and love is intended." At the upper left, a tapestry is used to frame the scene, and in the lower right the foot of the back wall is decorated with Delft tiles
Delftware
Delftware, or Delft pottery, denotes blue and white pottery made in and around Delft in the Netherlands and the tin-glazed pottery made in the Netherlands from the 16th century....
.
Because of its style, the painting has been dated to about 1670. It has been suggested that it and Lady Standing at a Virginal
Lady Standing at a Virginal
Lady Standing at a Virginal is a genre painting created by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer in about 1670-1672 and now in the National Gallery, London....
(also owned by the National Gallery) may have been created as pendants, because their sizes, date and subject matter are all similar, yet their provenances before the 19th century differ, and Vermeer sometimes varied a theme in otherwise unrelated paintings. In the 19th century, both paintings were owned by the art critic Théophile Thoré, whose writings led to a resurgence of interest in Vermeer starting in 1866. The painting entered the National Gallery with the Salting Bequest in 1910.