The painting Girl Reading a Letter by Dutch artist Vermeer is widely recognized as one of the most famous paintings in the Western world. It was painted around 1660, and remains incredibly popular to this day. Now it seems that we may finally know what’s written on that letter she holds in her hand: Cupid found in Vermeer’s ‘Girl Reading a Letter’.
The “girl reading a letter at an open window analysis” is a blog post about the content of Vermeer’s painting, “Girl Reading a Letter.”.
A Cupid found via X-ray in Vermeer’s recently restored painting Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window has gotten a lot of attention.
Her bedroom wall is adorned with a legendary love deity. The present display at Dresden’s Gemaldegalerie in Germany is based on this finding.
But how meaningful can any picture that has been painted over be? Paintings are constantly reworked by artists. It’s a fool’s errand to try to find significance in something that has been Xed out.
Despite this, according to ArtNet, French art historian Theophile Thore-Burger “intuits” the “hidden manipulations, and modifications” in Vermeer’s paintings, as if deletion is significant.
A lady – not a girl (who named this painting?) – is plainly seen in the artwork reading a letter held in both hands, evidently fascinated by what it says. What is it that fascinates her so much?
Cupid, who was just found, indicates it’s a love letter. But would Vermeer, who was known for his delicate monochromatic tones, be so forthright in telling us what we should look at?
Silenced sounds
Consider the innuendos in his best-known work, The Girl with the Pearl Earring’s facial expression. It’s difficult to tell what she’s thinking because he depicted her in such a manner that it’s difficult to tell what she’s thinking.
What he leaves out of the image is what makes it so compelling. All you get is a little period of silence. You’re on your own for the remainder.
Also, take note of this. According to recent study, Vermeer did not paint the Cupid and that it was added to the painting years after his death.
So, why are we so interested in it?
And why does Artnet claim that in the text, the legendary god of desire alludes to amorous, even illicit, feelings?”
Norbert Schneider, an art critic, also goes off on a tangent. In his 2016 book “Vermeer,” professor emeritus of Art History at the University of Karlsruhe, Germany, said that the open window is “a sign of adulterous connections.”
“The woman’s desire to expand her home realm,” he says. That seems a little too familiar to me.
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Where is the attention on the picture, on what is there in front of you? There’s a bed between the lady and the letter, indicating that she’s in her own place and that the message is so essential that she needs to be alone with it.
Perhaps Vermeer flung open the window to allow light through, calming her joy upon getting the message.
But that’s all I’m going to say about it.
private musings
She’s completely engrossed by the letter’s content. You get quiet moments like that in all of Vermeer’s paintings. But what about her desire for a sexual experience outside of her home? That distinguishes it as a unique painting, unlike any Vermeer ever imagined.
The Girl Reading a Letter by an Open Window article on Artnet has a tidbit that is more interesting than the Cupid story. During WWII, the Soviet Army protected the artwork from being bombed. For diplomatic reasons, the Russians returned it to Germany.
However, they requested that it be kept “as a thank you present for their generosity.” The Germans turned down the offer. What is the moral of the story? The Russians fell in love with Vermeer’s picture long before any Cupid was located.
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The “vermeer cupid restoration” is a blog that discusses the content of Vermeer’s painting, Girl Reading a Letter. The author has found Cupid in the painting and has discussed what it might have been doing.
Related Tags
- why do scholars now think a previous owner concealed the cupid image?
- vermeer letter
- vermeer painting found
- vermeer restoration
- vermeer window
