COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
TFC_.191126
AMICA Library Year:
1999
Object Type:
Paintings
Creator Name:
Vermeer van Delft, Jan
Creator Nationality:
European; Dutch
Creator Dates/Places:
1632-1675
Creator Name-CRT:
Jan Vermeer van Delft
Title:
Mistress and Maid
View:
Full View
Creation Date:
probably between 1665-1670
Creation Start Date:
1632
Creation End Date:
1670
Materials and Techniques:
oil on canvas (lined)
Processes and Techniques:
oil painting
Materials Terms:
oil paint
Support Materials:
canvas
Dimensions:
35 1/2 x 31 in. (92 x 78.7 cm.)
Component Measured:
overall
Measurement Dimension:
width
Measurement Value:
78.7
Measurement Unit:
cm
Component Measured:
overall
Measurement Dimension:
height
Measurement Value:
92
Measurement Unit:
cm
AMICA Contributor:
The Frick Collection
Owner Location:
New York, New York, USA
ID Number:
19.1.126
Credit Line:
Purchased
Context:
The subject of writing and receiving letters, which recurs frequently in Vermeer's work, is given an exceptional sense of dramatic tension in this painting of two women arrested in some moment of mysterious crisis. The lack of final modeling in the mistress head and figure and the relatively plain background indicate that this late work by Vermeer was left unfinished. Nevertheless, the artist seldom if ever surpassed the subtly varied effects of light seen here as it gleams from the pearl jewelry, sparkles from the glass and silver objects on the table, and falls softly over the figures in their shadowy setting. Bought by Mr. Frick in 1919, the year of his death, this painting was his last purchase and joined Rembrandt's Self-Portrait, Holbein's Sir Thomas More, Bellini's St. Francis, and Velázquez' King Philip IV among his favorite acquisitions.
Related Document Description:
New York, The Frick Collection. Art in the Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts [cat.]. Comp. C. Ryskamp, et al., 1996, p.72 (reproduced in color). New York, The Frick Collection. An Illustrated Catalogue. Vol.1, Paintings. [cat.]. 1968, pp.296-299, p.297 (reproduced).
Related Image Identifier Link:
TFC_.19-1-126.tif
