Description
Girl with a Red Hat is a tiny painting by Johannes Vermeer from about 1665–1667, one of his so-called tronies: a young girl turns over her shoulder towards us, lips slightly parted, beneath a wide, flat hat of glowing red. She wears a blue cloak with a white collar and pearl drop earrings; a carved lion’s head of a chair sits in the lower left, a tapestry behind her. The original, oil on a wooden panel of just 22.8 x 18 cm, belongs to the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Our painter paints it by hand in oil colours on canvas, in one of 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 49 to 160 x 200 cm or made to measure, every one larger than the original, and we send you a photograph of the finished work before it ships.
| Title: | Girl with a Red Hat |
| Other titles: | Meisje met de rode hoed · Mädchen mit dem roten Hut |
| Painter: | Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) |
| Year painted: | c. 1665–1667 |
| Original size: | 22.8 cm x 18 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on panel |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | National Gallery of Art, Washington (acc. no. 1937.1.53) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Girl with a Red Hat – Johannes Vermeer
What does Girl with a Red Hat show?
On a small wooden panel a young girl has just turned round over her shoulder. She looks straight at the viewer, lips a little apart, as if a voice in the room had interrupted her. The framing is tight, so her face is very close and almost at the centre.
Above her head spreads a broad, flat hat in vivid red. Its brim throws a shadow over her forehead and eyes, while her cheek and chin catch the light.
She wears a blue cloak with a white collar that looks like lace, and pearls hang from her ears, each with a small bright highlight. The light falls from the right, which is unusual for Vermeer, whose interiors are mostly lit from the left.
In the lower left corner the carved lion’s head of a chair emerges softly from the shadow, and a tapestry with a blurred pattern fills the background, making the red and blue glow even more.
Who is the girl, and what does the painting mean?
This is not a portrait of a known sitter. It is counted among Vermeer’s tronies, the Dutch name for pictures of models in fanciful dress that were not meant to record a particular person. Who sat for the painter is not known.
Beneath the surface there is another layer. When the panel was examined with the latest technology before an exhibition in 2022, it turned out that Vermeer had first begun a portrait of a man in a wide-brimmed hat on this piece of wood.
The red hat is painted in two layers: vermilion mixed with a black pigment below, and a translucent glaze of madder lake above.
Why is this painting so well known?
Its size is the first surprise. The panel is 22.8 cm high, smaller than a sheet of A4 paper, yet the face is so direct that the girl seems to sit right in front of us.
Because it is painted on a reused wooden panel rather than on canvas, scholars were long divided over the attribution. A recent study by curators of the National Gallery of Art confirmed Vermeer as its author, a conclusion Dutch experts also support.
A similar glance over the shoulder will be familiar to anyone who knows Girl with a Pearl Earring, also regarded as a tronie, though the girl under the red hat is livelier and less mysterious. More on the painting and the debate over its authorship is in the Wikipedia article (in English).
Where is the original of Girl with a Red Hat?
The original belongs to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, which lists it under accession number 1937.1.53. It is oil on panel, 22.8 cm high and 18 cm wide.
Its early history is only supposed: it may have belonged to Vermeer’s patron Pieter Claesz van Ruijven, passed by inheritance to his wife Maria de Knuijt, their daughter Magdalena and her husband Jacob Dissius, and probably went to auction in Amsterdam in 1696.
The later record is firmer. Baron Louis Marie Baptiste Atthalin bought it at the Hôtel de Bouillon in Paris in 1822, Andrew W. Mellon acquired it through M. Knoedler & Co. in 1925, and his educational and charitable trust gave it to the National Gallery of Art in 1937.
Girl with a Red Hat or another Vermeer?
Girl with a Red Hat is a canvas painting for a spot that wants one strong accent: a home office wall, a narrow strip beside a bookcase, or a hallway where a glance over the shoulder greets you as you come in.
If a face seen up close appeals to you, look too at Study of a Young Woman, also made as a tronie. Window and letter return in Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, and music in Woman with a Lute, where a young woman tunes her instrument.
All the famous Vermeer paintings we make are gathered on the Johannes Vermeer page.
How does our painter paint your Girl with a Red Hat?
To be clear: the original is painted on wood, while ours is made with oil colours on canvas. Every size we paint is larger than the original, so the painter transfers the composition to a bigger surface and keeps its proportions.
The work proceeds in layers: first the dark background and the outline of the figure, then the face, modelled with light from the right. The hat is built much as Vermeer built it, a translucent red glaze over a denser red base.
The result is a Vermeer reproduction with real brush marks, which no print has. Like any oil painting reproduction, it changes with the light in your room: the red deepens in the evening and flares up on a clear day.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 40 x 49 or 48 x 60 cm for a shelf or a narrow wall, 61 x 80 or 68 x 90 cm above a desk or a chest of drawers, 90 x 110 or 110 x 145 cm above a sofa, and 126 x 160 or 160 x 200 cm for a tall wall or a stairwell.
There are 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 40 x 49, 48 x 60, 61 x 80, 68 x 90, 90 x 110, 110 x 145, 126 x 160 and 160 x 200 cm. The nearest to the original is 40 x 49 cm, which is 22 cm wider and 26.2 cm taller.
Because the original is so small, even our smallest size shows the face larger than a visitor sees it in Washington. As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 90 x 110 cm works well, hung with its lower edge about 20 cm above the backrest.
Can I have a different size and a frame?
Yes. The original is about 4 : 5 in proportion, so we can paint it in an unlisted size without the lion’s head or the hat’s brim slipping off the edge. Send the width and height you want through our made-to-order page and we reply with price and timing.
Rolled, on a stretcher bar or framed: our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing before anything leaves us. You pick the frame in our 3D application, which exists only for that choice; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will Girl with a Red Hat arrive?
We start painting once you confirm the order, and within 15 to 45 working days it is ready to go. Before dispatch you get a photograph of the finished work and can ask for changes.
A parcel to Slovenia or any other EU country goes through no customs procedure, and our returns policy covers every order.
Girl with a Red Hat makes a fine gift for someone who loves portraits, strong colour or Dutch painting. To leave the choice of size to them, there is our wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the original hang?
In the National Gallery of Art in Washington, under accession number 1937.1.53.
Who is the girl?
Nobody knows; the work is a tronie, a model in fanciful dress, not a portrait of a particular person.
Will I receive a print?
No, you receive a hand-painted copy, made with a brush and oil colours on canvas.
How big is the original?
It is 22.8 cm high and 18 cm wide; our smallest size, 40 x 49 cm, is considerably larger.
Do you paint it in other sizes too?
Yes, we paint it in a size you set yourself and tell you the price in advance.
How long will I wait for it?
Allow 15 to 45 working days before it ships; there are no customs within the EU.
Is it a good gift?
Very much so, since the upright format suits almost any home and the red hat draws the eye at once.
Why is the original on wood?
Vermeer reused a panel on which he had first begun a portrait of a man in a hat.
- Subject: a young girl in a blue cloak and a broad red hat looks back over her shoulder at the viewer.
- Original: c. 1665–1667, oil on panel, 22.8 x 18 cm, National Gallery of Art, Washington.
- Ours: oil on canvas, painted by hand to order, in 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 49 to 160 x 200 cm or a size you choose.
- Worth knowing: every one of our sizes is larger than the original, which is smaller than a sheet of A4.
