Description
The Music Lesson is a painting by Johannes Vermeer from about 1662–1665: at the far end of a bright room a young woman stands with her back to us at a virginal, her face caught in the mirror above the instrument, while a man stands close beside her and listens. In the foreground are a table draped with a patterned rug and set with a white jug, and a viola da gamba lying on the floor. The original, oil on canvas, is 74.1 cm high and 64.6 cm wide and belongs to the Royal Collection in the United Kingdom. Our painter paints it for you in oil colours on canvas, in one of 8 portrait sizes between 45 x 50 and 172 x 200 cm or to your own measurement, and before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | The Music Lesson |
| Other titles: | De muziekles · A Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman |
| Painter: | Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) |
| Year painted: | c. 1662–1665 |
| Original size: | 74.1 cm x 64.6 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | Royal Collection, United Kingdom |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
The Music Lesson – Johannes Vermeer
What does The Music Lesson show?
Your eye travels the full depth of the room, right to the back wall. There a young woman stands at a virginal, a small keyboard instrument, and turns her back to us.
We never see her face directly; the mirror above the instrument catches it. Beside her stands a man in dark clothes, turned towards her; his lips are slightly parted, as though he were quietly singing along.
In front stands a table under a heavy patterned rug, a white jug on top. A viola da gamba lies on the tiled floor, and daylight from the windows on the left lights the wall behind the virginal.
What is the scene at the virginal about?
At first sight it is an ordinary lesson: the pupil plays and the teacher accompanies her. Because the man seems to be singing with her, we sense a quiet affection between them as well.
In Dutch painting of that period music and love were often paired, and two people making music together hinted at closeness.
The lid of the virginal carries a Latin inscription saying that music keeps company with joy and soothes sorrow. Vermeer spells nothing out; whether this is a courtship or simply practice is left for each viewer to decide.
Why is The Music Lesson so admired?
Here Vermeer gathers objects that return again and again in his work: the rug, the white jug, instruments, floor tiles and windows. He arranges them so that your eye is led step by step into the room.
The mirror is what sets it apart. It holds the face the woman otherwise keeps from us, so we see her back and her face at the same moment.
Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) worked in Delft and left relatively few works, mostly quiet daylit interiors. The same calm light fills The Milkmaid, except that there a stream of milk takes the place of music.
To learn more about the history of the work and the pigments Vermeer used, read the Wikipedia article (in English).
Where is the original of The Music Lesson?
The original is part of the Royal Collection in the United Kingdom. The canvas, 74.1 cm by 64.6 cm, has hung at both Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle.
It was sold in Delft in May 1696, acquired in 1718 by the Venetian painter Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini, and later passed to the collector Joseph Smith. When King George III bought Smith’s collection of paintings in 1762, it entered the royal collection, where it has stayed ever since.
For a long time it was not credited to Vermeer: because its signature was misread, it was thought to be by Frans van Mieris the Elder, and only in 1866 did Théophile Thoré recognise it as a Vermeer.
The Music Lesson or another Vermeer?
This one belongs where music is played or heard: above a piano, beside a record player or in a quiet reading corner.
If you would like a second musical scene, look at The Concert, where three people make music; the original was in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston until it was stolen in 1990, and it is still missing. The lady whose maid brings her a letter in The Love Letter also holds an instrument in her lap.
For a study, the scholar reaching towards his globe is a better match: The Astronomer. All the famous Vermeer paintings we paint to order are collected on the Johannes Vermeer page.
How does our painter paint The Music Lesson?
We begin each Music Lesson only after you order it and paint it in oil colours on canvas, layer by layer. First the painter lays out the perspective: the lines of the tiles, the edges of the table and the walls that draw the eye towards the virginal.
Next he builds the light falling from the left onto the back wall. Vermeer painted the dark floor with black mixed with blue ultramarine, so our painter does not paint the shadows in pure black either.
He lingers over the small things: the rug’s pattern, the face in the mirror, the jug and the viola’s strings. The result is a Vermeer reproduction with visible brush marks and a depth of colour that no print can reach.
An oil painting reproduction also lives with the light in your room: in the morning the floor on the canvas looks bluer, and in the evening the rug seems warmer.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 45 x 50 or 50 x 60 cm for a narrow wall or the corner by an instrument, 64 x 76 or 80 x 96 cm above a chest of drawers or a piano, 90 x 107 or 120 x 140 cm above a sofa, and 133 x 160 or 172 x 200 cm for a tall, wide wall.
You can choose from 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 45 x 50, 50 x 60, 64 x 76, 80 x 96, 90 x 107, 120 x 140, 133 x 160 and 172 x 200 cm. The closest to the original is 64 x 76 cm, which is 0.6 cm narrower and 1.9 cm taller.
At the larger sizes the deep room opens up like a view through a doorway. As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 90 x 107 or 120 x 140 cm is a good choice; hang it so that the mirror above the virginal sits a little above eye level.
Can I choose another size or a frame?
Of course. The original is roughly 7 : 8 in proportion, so we can paint it at a size not on the list and keep the mirror, jug and viola whole. Send us the width and height you want, and we will reply with a price and a delivery time.
Your Music Lesson can travel rolled, ready on a stretcher bar or already framed. Our workshop in Slovenia stretches and frames every canvas painting we send out. You pick the frame in our 3D application, which is meant for choosing a frame only; showing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
Dark wood suits the dark floor and the rug; slim gold suits a white wall.
When will the painting arrive?
As soon as your order comes in the painter starts work, and within 15 to 45 working days The Music Lesson is ready to travel. Before we ship it, we send you a photograph of the finished painting; if you would like a change, we make it.
Within Slovenia and to every other EU country it travels without customs duties, and our returns policy covers every order.
The Music Lesson is a lovely present for a musician, a piano teacher or a couple who like to play together. If you would rather let the recipient choose the size, give a wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original today?
In the Royal Collection in the United Kingdom, which has owned it since 1762.
What does the lid of the virginal say?
A Latin inscription: music is the companion of joy and a medicine for sorrow.
Why is the woman’s face only visible in the mirror?
Because she has her back to us; the mirror above the virginal shows the face we would otherwise not see.
Is it a print?
No. Every Music Lesson we make is a hand-painted copy, done with a brush in oil paint on canvas.
How big is the original?
It is 74.1 cm high and 64.6 cm wide; our 64 x 76 cm size is the closest to it.
Which size works above a piano?
Above an upright or a grand piano, 64 x 76 or 80 x 96 cm works best.
Can I have it in a different size?
Yes. Send us the width and height, and we will prepare a quote with price and timing.
How long will I wait?
Allow 15 to 45 working days; the photograph of your finished painting reaches you before it ships.
- Subject: a young woman at a virginal, her face in the mirror, a man beside her; in front a table with a rug, a white jug and a viola da gamba.
- Original: c. 1662–1665, oil on canvas, 74.1 x 64.6 cm, Royal Collection, United Kingdom.
- Ours: painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 45 x 50 to 172 x 200 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: for more than a century it was thought to be by Frans van Mieris; it was given to Vermeer only in 1866.
