Woman Reading a Letter

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Gabriel Metsu , Dutch, 1629-1667

Title

Date1664-1666

MediumOil on wood panel

Dimensions

52.5 x 40.2 cm

Credit LinePresented, Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, 1987 (Beit Collection)

Object numberNGI.4537

DescriptionA woman is engrossed in reading a letter she has just received from her suitor. She holds the sheet at an angle, not only because she may need more light to read it, but also because she wants to hide the contents from her maid. Yet, her servant already knows what the letter is about. She reveals a warning for her mistress by pulling aside a curtain protecting a painting of a ship sailing on choppy waters, a reference to the then common simile that love is like a rough sea.
Metsu had originally intended the lady’s fur-trimmed jacket to be red but painted it yellow at a later stage (the red paint can still be seen with the naked eye). He made the change knowing that yellow jackets were one of Vermeer’s trademarks. Metsu painted the yellow velvet in a flat, schematic technique that is different to every other area in the painting but reminiscent of Vermeer’s brushwork of the mid-1660s. The maid holds another letter in her hand addressed to Mr/Metsu/tot Amst[erdam]/ Port. the letter is not part of the narrative but constitutes Metsu’s humorous way of signing his work.

March 2016

ProvenanceAmsterdam, 28 March 1720, Hendrick Sorgh sale, lot 29 (fl. 560 with its pendant); Amsterdam, 16 March 1724, G. Bruyn sale (fl. 785 with its pendant); Johannes Coop; Gerrit Braamcamp, Amsterdam, c.1744-1750; Amsterdam, 31 July 1771, G. Braamcamp sale,no. 125 (f. 5205 with its pendant), bt. Jan Hope; Jan Hope; Lord Francis Pelham Clinton Hope, Deepdene, thence by descent; the collection purchased en bloc by A. Wertheimer and P. & D. Colnaghi, 1898; Sir Alfred Beit, London and Blessington; presented, Sir Alfred and Lady Beit, 1987 (Beit Collection) Exhibition HistoryBritish Gallery, London, 1815

British Institution, London, 1849

British Institution, London, 1865

Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1881

The Hope Collection of Pictures of the Dutch and Flemish Schools, South Kensington Museum, London, 1891

Winter Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1900

Exhibition of Dutch Masters of the Seventeenth Century, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1900

Exhibition in Aid of National Funds, Messrs. Colnaghi and Obach's Gallery, London, 1914-1915

Dutch Art 1450-1900, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1929

Old Master Paintings from the Beit Collection, National Gallery of South Africa, Capetown, 1949-1950

Dutch Painting - The Golden Age, Metropolitan Museum, New York; Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo; The Art Gallery of Toronto, Toronto, 1954-1955
Manchester Art Treasures Centenary Exhibition, City Art Gallery, Manchester, 1957
Gabriel Metsu, Stedelijk Museum de Lakenhal, Leiden, 22 June - 5 September 1966

Tot Leering en Vermaak: betekenissen van Hollandse genrevoorstellingen uit de zeventiende eeuw, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 1976

Art, Commerce, Scholarship: a window onto the Art World - Colnaghi 1760 to 1984, Colnaghi, London, 1984

Acquisitions 1986-88, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, June - July 1988

The Glory of the Golden Age. Dutch Art of the 17th Century: Paintings, Sculpture and Decorative Art, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 2000

Love Letters: Dutch Genre Paintings in the Age of Vermeer, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 1 October - 31 December 2003; Bruce Museum of Arts and Science, Greenwich, Connecticut, 31 January - 2 May 2004

Gabriel Metsu, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 4 September - 5 December 2010; Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, 16 December 2010 - 21 March 2011; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 17 April - 24 July 2011

Johannes Vermeer and the Golden Age of Dutch Art, Scuderie del Quirinale, Rome, 26 September 2012 - 20 January 2013

Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 20 February 2017 - 22 May 2017: National Gallery of Art , Washington, 22 October 2017 - 21 January 2018

Making the Difference: Vermeer and Dutch Art, Hata Stichting Foundation, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, 05 October 2018 - 03 February 2019

Making the Difference: Vermeer and Dutch Art, Hata Stichting Foundation, The Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, 16 February 2019 - 12 May 2019: Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts, Osaka, 16 February 2019 - 12 May 2019

Johannes Vermeer. On Reflection, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, 10 September 2021 – 02 January 2022
Label TextA lady reads a letter sent to her by her suitor, depicted in the painting’s companion piece. She holds the sheet at an angle, not only because she needs more light, but also because she wants to make sure that the maid does not peek at it. Yet, her servant already knows what the letter is about. She reveals a warning for her mistress by pulling aside a curtain protecting a painting of a ship on choppy waters, a reference to the then common simile that love is like a rough sea. The maid holds another letter in her hand addressed to Mr/Metsu/tot Amst[erdam]/Port, the artist’s humorous way of signing his work.