Vermeer, 'A Young Woman standing at a Virginal', about 1670-2

The young woman's gaze draws us into the painting. She is richly dressed, standing at the keyboard of a virginal. The empty chair in the foreground and the painting of cupid above, invite us to consider romantic possibilities.

With extraordinary skill, Vermeer has managed to capture a tender portrait of this young woman. He has also managed to render accurate details from a seventeenth-century Dutch home.

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