Vermeer's Masterpiece "The Milkmaid" at The Met
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Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632-1675). The Milkmaid (ca. 1658). Oil on canvas. 45.5 x 41 cm (17.9 x 16.1 in.). Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. |
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Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632-1675). Young Woman with a Water Pitcher (ca. 1662). OIl on canvas. 45.7 x 40.6 cm (18 x 16 in.). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. |
By STAN PARCHIN
August 11, 2009
The Metropolitan Museum of Art celebrates the quadricentennial of explorer Henry Hudson's historic voyage from Amsterdam to New York with Vermeer's Masterpiece "The Milkmaid," a dossier exhibition on view from September 10 to November 29, 2009. One of the most important paintings in The Netherlands' prestigious Rijksmuseum, it last appeared stateside at the 1939 World's Fair in New York.
Only 36 paintings by Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) survive. The Met's spacious first-floor installation showcases The Milkmaid (ca. 1658) and the Dutch master's five compositions owned by the New York museum: Young Woman with a Water Pitcher (ca. 1662); A Maid Asleep (ca. 1656-57); Study of a Young Woman (probably ca. 1665-67); Woman with a Lute (ca. 1662-1663); and Allegory of the Catholic Faith (ca. 1670). Also displayed are important works by some of the artist's remarkable contemporaries, among them Pieter de Hooch, Gabriël Metsu, Nicolaes Maes and Emanuel de Witte.
Describing life, commerce and art during the Age of Exploration, the presentation features works on paper by Lucas van Leyden, Jacques de Gheyn II and Jacob Backer.
Sources
Liedtke, Walter, et al. Vermeer and the Delft School (exh. cat.). New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Yale University Press, 2001.
Steadman, Philip. Vermeer's Camera: Uncovering the Truth Behind the Masterpieces. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Wheelock, Jr., Arthur K. (ed.), et al. Johannes Vermeer (exh. cat.). Washington, D.C.: National Gallery of Art, 1995.
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