Johannes Vermeer: Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, 1662

courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialised in domestic interior scenes of middle class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately successful provincial genre painter, recognised in Delft and The Hague. He worked slowly and with great care, and frequently used very expensive pigments. Nonetheless, he produced relatively few paintings and evidently was not wealthy, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death.  

In Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, a woman, standing at an open window, begins her day with ablutions from a gilt-silver pitcher and basin, with linen coverings protecting her dress and hair. The first work by Vermeer to enter an American collection, this painting embodies the artist’s interest in domestic themes, giving an almost voyeuristic glimpse into the private life of a woman before she presents her public face to the world.

the above text appears on the back of the card
HC-1221: card size 6" x 6" (150mm x 150mm)