Description
Officer and Laughing Girl is a painting by Johannes Vermeer from about 1657: in the foreground sits an officer in a red coat and a broad black hat, half turned away from us, while across the table a young woman in a yellow bodice and white headscarf laughs, a glass of wine in her hand. The original, oil on canvas, is 50.5 cm high and 46 cm wide and belongs to The Frick Collection in New York. Our painter paints it to order in oil on canvas, in one of 8 portrait sizes from 45 x 50 to 190 x 200 cm or to your own measurement, and before it ships you receive a photograph of the finished painting.
| Title: | Officer and Laughing Girl |
| Other titles: | De Soldaat en het Lachende Meisje · Der Soldat und das lachende Mädchen |
| Painter: | Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) |
| Year painted: | c. 1657 |
| Original size: | 50.5 cm x 46 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | The Frick Collection, New York (acc. no. 1911.1.127) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Officer and Laughing Girl – Johannes Vermeer
What does Officer and Laughing Girl show?
The scene takes place in a bright room beside an open window on the left. A man and a young woman sit at a table, and Vermeer places us right behind the man.
The officer is half turned away from us. He wears a red coat, a black sash across his chest and a wide-brimmed black hat, so in the foreground he looms large and dark, almost a silhouette against the pale wall.
The woman wears a yellow bodice with braiding, and a white cap covers her hair completely. One hand holds a wine glass, the other lies open on the table, and she laughs at him openly. Her face is the brightest spot on the whole canvas.
On the back wall hangs a large map of Holland and West Friesland, mounted on wooden rods. Through the window we see no street, only light breaking in the panes and falling straight onto the young woman’s face.
What is going on between the officer and the girl?
Vermeer does not tell us what they are saying. Many art historians see an innocent, honourable courtship here: a young soldier has come to call, and she is laughing at something he said.
Some have read a less innocent invitation in her open hand and her smile.
In the shadow of the table she wears a blue apron, the kind worn for housework at the time because it hid stains well. Art historians take this to mean the officer surprised her in the middle of her morning chores.
Her glass was the kind used for white wine, which then cost more than beer, and his beaver-pelt hat was imported from the New World. Both are quiet signs of prosperity.
Why is this Vermeer so well loved?
This small canvas gathers almost everything we now recognise as Vermeer: the woman in yellow, light from an open window on the left and a map on the wall.
The composition is unusual. The large dark figure in the foreground pushes the woman deeper into the room and gives it depth; the device is called repoussoir. Vermeer probably learned it from the followers of Caravaggio, and experts believe a painting by Gerard van Honthorst inspired the composition.
The strong perspective has led to the idea that Vermeer worked with a camera obscura. There is no historical evidence for it. The Wikipedia article (in English) covers the details.
The soft light of a side window, familiar from The Milkmaid as well, became one of his most recognisable signatures.
Where is the original?
The original belongs to The Frick Collection in New York, under accession number 1911.1.127. The canvas is 50.5 cm high and 46 cm wide, almost square and surprisingly small.
The map on the wall can be identified exactly: it is the 1621 map of Holland and West Friesland by Willem Blaeu and Balthasar Florisz van Berckenrode. Vermeer must have owned it, because it appears in three of his paintings.
This painting or another Vermeer?
With its warm reds, yellows and blues, this canvas painting comes alive in a dining room, a reading corner with armchairs or beside a home bar, anywhere people like to sit together over a glass.
Its closest relatives hang in the same New York collection. Girl Interrupted at Her Music also seats a young woman at a table by a window, with a man standing behind her, while Mistress and Maid swaps the soldier for a maid bringing a letter.
For a bigger wall and a scene with more figures there is also The Procuress. Browse the famous Vermeer paintings in our range on the Johannes Vermeer page.
How is your copy made?
Once your order comes in, the painter builds the picture in oil paint on canvas, layer by layer. He starts with the dark figure of the officer and the pale wall behind the woman, because everything else lives off that contrast.
Then comes the red coat, which has to glow without drowning out the woman, followed by the yellow bodice and its braiding. Her face takes the greatest care: the laugh has to stay light and the eyes alive. The map on the wall and the reflections in the window panes come last.
What you receive is an oil painting reproduction with visible brushwork and a depth of colour no print has. It also changes with the light in your room: the red grows warmer in the evening, the yellow lights up in the morning.
Which size suits your wall?
In short: 45 x 50 or 56 x 64 cm for a narrow wall or above a desk, 68 x 75 or 85 x 95 cm above a chest of drawers, 98 x 104 or 125 x 140 cm above a sofa, and 145 x 160 or 190 x 200 cm for a tall wall.
There are 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 45 x 50, 56 x 64, 68 x 75, 85 x 95, 98 x 104, 125 x 140, 145 x 160 and 190 x 200 cm. The closest to the original is 45 x 50 cm, which is 1 cm narrower and 0.5 cm shorter.
The small sizes keep the intimacy of a conversation at a table, while on the large ones her laugh carries all the way from the door. As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 98 x 104 cm is a good choice; hang it with her face just above eye level.
Can I have a different size or a frame?
Yes. The original is roughly 9 : 10 in proportion, so it transfers easily to a size that is not on the list without losing the window or the edge of the map. Tell us here the width and height you have in mind, and we will reply with a price and a delivery time.
Choose whether it arrives rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. Our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing and prepares every Vermeer reproduction that leaves us in the same way.
You choose the frame in our 3D application, which is meant for picking the frame only; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
When will it arrive, and how is it delivered?
The painting is ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days of your order. Before we pack it, you receive a photograph of the finished painting, and if you would like anything changed, we still see to it.
Within Slovenia and to every other EU country it travels without customs formalities, and our returns policy applies to every order.
This scene makes a cheerful gift for a couple, for a wedding or an anniversary, or for anyone who loves having guests round. If you would rather let them pick the size, give a wall art voucher instead.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
At The Frick Collection in New York, under accession number 1911.1.127.
Why is the girl laughing?
Vermeer does not say; most experts see the friendly courtship of a young soldier in it.
Which map hangs on the wall?
The 1621 map of Holland and West Friesland made by Blaeu and Van Berckenrode.
Is it a print?
No. Each one is a hand-painted copy, done with a brush in oil paint on canvas.
How large is the original canvas?
It is 50.5 cm high and 46 cm wide; of our sizes, 45 x 50 cm comes closest.
Would it suit a dining room?
Very well: laughter at a table and a glass of wine are made for the room where you welcome guests.
Can I get it in another format?
Yes, we also paint it in a size of your choice; we send you the price and the time needed.
How long will I wait?
From 15 to 45 working days, and before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished painting.
- Subject: an officer in a red coat and broad black hat sits in the foreground, and across the table by the window a girl in yellow laughs with a glass of wine; a map hangs on the wall.
- Original: c. 1657, oil on canvas, 50.5 x 46 cm, The Frick Collection, New York.
- Ours: oil on canvas, painted by hand to order, in 8 portrait sizes from 45 x 50 to 190 x 200 cm or a size of your choice.
- Worth knowing: Vermeer painted the same map of Holland and West Friesland in three of his works.
