Girl Interrupted at her Music (2)

I published my final article some weeks ago on my blog account. However, I forgot to publish it here. In my blog account you can find some more articles on Vermeer and the painting I have been working on. Besides, you can also see a bigger picture of the latter.

I am going to describe the baroque painting Girl Interrupted at her Music by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. The latter lived between the years 1632 and 1675 and was born in Delft, the city were he also died. His first works can be described as historical painting; however, he had a greater success with his genre works, which comprise the majority of his pictures. Regarding his most popular canvases, these are Girl with a Pearl Earring and View of Delft. To conclude, it is remarkable that he did not obtain much recognition until the second half of the 19th century. In fact, his death made his wife and children run up debts.

This article will not be focused on this baroque painter but on his painting Girl Interrupted at her Music. First of all, I would like to give some general data on it. This picture was painted between 1660 and 1661 in oil on canvas. Currently it can be admired in New York since it belongs to the Frick Collection.

Next, I will talk about the main elements of its scene in detail. In the foreground we can see a woman who wears a red jacket and covers her hair with a white shawl. Besides, she holds a letter at the same time that she addresses the audience, looking for help. It seems that she does not know what to do: read the letter or decline the man’s proposal. Referring to the characters, according to a hypothesis, Vermeer was inspired by Jan Steen’s Music Master or Frans van Mieris’ Teasing the Pet when painting them, even though he modified the body language and the expressions of their faces.