The Love Letter by Jan Vermeer

Painted in the last phase of his career, Dutch artist Jan Vermeer’s The Love Letter is a work of oil on canvas that depicts a wealthy woman holding a love letter, seemingly just delivered to her by the maid servant at her side. The foreground of the painting creates the impression of viewing a private scene from a side room. Aside from the title, Vermeer included other details that signify love. The wealthy woman in the painting is holding a cittern, an instrument that was a common symbol of love, and behind the two figures is a painting of a ship on a stormy sea, which was another popular analogy for lovers. Vermeer’s work serves as a glimpse of not only female clothing and social status, but of the interiors of Dutch upper-class homes in the seventeenth century. The Love Letter is currently on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.