Study of a Young Woman
A young woman looks back over her shoulder against a dark background: a face painting of no particular person, made almost as a pair to Girl with a Pearl Earring. Full commentary ↓
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Study of a Young Woman is an oil painting by Johannes Vermeer (ca. 1665–67) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It measures 44.5 × 40 cm.
In the pictureAgainst a black background, a young woman looks back at us over her shoulder. A grayish cloth is wrapped around her head, and a pearl earring gleams at her ear. Her face is broad with a high forehead, and her lips are slightly parted. Her clothing is a yellowish white. The light comes from the left, illuminating one side of her face and leaving the other in shadow.
BackgroundPainted around 1665–67, it has nearly the same composition as Girl with a Pearl Earring in The Hague. It is what the Dutch of the time called a tronie: not a portrait of a real person but a face painting that studies expression and costume. Who the model was is unknown; one theory holds that she was Vermeer's daughter. That a face which is not a conventional beauty is painted so tenderly is, if anything, the charm of this picture.
Puzzle tipAs a puzzle, the background is almost black, so half the pieces are a single color. Complete the light pieces of the face, headscarf and clothing first, and fill the black background last as the remaining gaps. If you zoom in on the background pieces, you can see that those near the figure are faintly lighter. The pearl earring piece is a good reference point.
- Artist
- Dutch, Delft 1632–1675 Delft
- Classification
- Paintings
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 44.5 x 40 cm
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in memory of Theodore Rousseau Jr., 1979
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
Stories about this work
- Five Masterpieces by Vermeer, Rembrandt and Bruegel as Jigsaw Puzzles
Two Vermeers, two Rembrandts, one Bruegel. From a morning where nothing happens to the face of a bankrupt painter, why the Low Countries masters turn into a battle with dark pieces when you solve them as puzzles.
- From a Street in Delft to The Love Letter: Eight Vermeer Paintings in the Order He Painted Them
The Milkmaid, Woman Holding a Balance, The Love Letter and five more: eight Vermeer paintings in the order he painted them, the stories behind works spread across three museums, and tips for assembling white walls and dark rooms as puzzles.
