Description
The Procuress is a painting by Johannes Vermeer from 1656, signed and dated by the artist: behind a heavy patterned carpet thrown over a balustrade, a young woman in a yellow jacket holds out her hand for a coin offered by a man in a red jacket and plumed hat, an old woman in black looks on, and a man in black with a beret, a glass and a cittern in his hands, looks straight out at us. The original, oil on canvas, is 143 cm high and 130 cm wide and belongs to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden. Our painter paints The Procuress for you 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 you get a photograph of the finished painting before it ships.
| Title: | The Procuress |
| Other titles: | De koppelaarster · Bei der Kupplerin |
| Painter: | Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) |
| Year painted: | 1656 |
| Original size: | 143 cm x 130 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden (Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
The Procuress – Johannes Vermeer
What does The Procuress show?
A heavy oriental carpet with large patterns lies over a wooden balustrade in the foreground and fills almost the whole lower part of the picture. On it stands a white jug with blue decoration. Behind it four figures crowd together, as if we were looking into the corner of a cramped room.
On the right sits a young woman in a bright yellow jacket. Her open palm waits for the coin that a man in a red jacket and feathered hat is giving her; he stands close behind her with his hand resting on her.
Beside them an old woman in black follows the bargain with a watchful eye. At the far left a man in black wearing a beret holds a glass and a cittern and smiles at us, as though inviting us to join the company.
What story does the scene tell?
This is a scene of love for money, perhaps set in a brothel. A procuress is a woman who arranges such meetings; Vermeer, though, shows nothing more than the gesture with the coin and the old woman’s alert gaze.
For Vermeer the painting marks a turning point. Before it he painted biblical and mythological subjects, such as the large canvas Christ in the House of Martha and Mary; with The Procuress he turned for the first time to everyday life in his own time, in other words to genre painting.
The smiling man at the left is sometimes thought to be a self-portrait of the painter. That has never been proven, so it remains an appealing guess that you can weigh for yourself.
Why is The Procuress so special?
It is one of only three paintings by Vermeer that carry both a signature and a date. The year 1656 is therefore a fixed point from which his development can be traced.
Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) lived and worked in Delft and is known above all for quiet rooms lit by daylight. Here he is different: the canvas is large, the colours are warm and strong, and the figures come right up close to the viewer. What we see is a young painter still finding his way.
To read more about The Procuress and its place in Vermeer’s work, see the Wikipedia article (in English).
Where is the original of The Procuress?
The original belongs to the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, the old masters gallery of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. The canvas measures 143 cm in height and 130 cm in width.
On a visit to Dresden you can see it in person and get a sense of its scale: it is almost a metre and a half tall.
The Procuress or another Vermeer?
This is a picture for rooms where guests are welcome: a living room, a dining room, a lounge or the corner with the wine cabinet. The scene is lively and a little cheeky, so it suits grown-up spaces better than a child’s room.
If music appeals to you more than bargaining, The Concert may be closer to your taste, with three people playing and singing in a room with a black-and-white floor. For a single face turning towards you, choose Girl with a Pearl Earring, and for a town by the water under a wide sky, View of Delft.
Alongside The Procuress, the Johannes Vermeer page gathers the famous Vermeer paintings we paint to order.
How does our painter paint your Procuress?
We begin your Procuress only after you order it and build it up in oil on canvas, layer by layer. First the painter lays in the dark background and the four faces that emerge from it.
The hardest part is the carpet in the foreground: its patterns and folds have to convince without drowning out the figures behind it. Then come the woman’s yellow jacket, the man’s red and the white-and-blue jug, which need clean, saturated colour.
A Vermeer reproduction made this way has a real body of paint and visible brush marks, which a print lacks. An oil painting reproduction also lives with the light in the room: in the evening the warm tones glow differently than by day.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 45 x 50 or 56 x 64 cm for a hallway or above a chest of drawers, 68 x 75 or 85 x 95 cm for a dining room, 98 x 104 or 125 x 140 cm above a sofa, and 145 x 160 or 190 x 200 cm for a tall, wide wall.
You can choose from 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 125 x 140 cm, which is 5 cm narrower and 3 cm lower.
Because the original is large, the scene comes into its own in the bigger sizes. As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 98 x 104 or 125 x 140 cm works well; hang it so that the coin in her hand sits roughly at eye level.
Can I choose another size or a frame?
Yes. The original is roughly 10 : 11 in proportion, nearly square, so we can also paint it in a size not on the list without cropping the carpet or the man with the cittern. Send us the width and height you would like, and we will reply with a price and a delivery date.
We ship The Procuress rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed; the stretching and framing are done by our workshop in Slovenia, as for every canvas painting we send. For the large sizes a stretched or framed painting is the most practical choice, because it can go straight on the wall.
The frame is chosen in our 3D app, which serves frame choice alone; showing the painting on your own wall is a separate service. Dark wood with a narrow gold edge goes well with the reds and yellows.
When will The Procuress arrive?
As soon as your order comes in, the painter starts work, and within 15 to 45 working days the painting is ready to travel. Before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished Procuress; if you want something changed, we change it.
Within Slovenia and to the rest of the EU it travels free of customs duties, and our returns policy covers every order.
It makes a fine gift for a lover of old Dutch art or for someone who likes to entertain. If the size is better left to the person you are giving it to, offer a wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the real Procuress?
In the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden, part of the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
What is happening in the scene?
A man in red is paying a young woman in yellow while an old woman in black watches; it is a scene of love for money.
Is the man in the beret Vermeer himself?
He is sometimes thought to be a self-portrait of the painter, but this is not confirmed.
Is it a print?
No. Our Procuress is a hand-painted copy, made with a brush and oil paint on canvas.
How big is the original?
It is 143 cm high and 130 cm wide; our 125 x 140 cm size is 5 cm narrower and 3 cm lower.
Does it suit a living room?
Yes, especially above a sofa or in a dining room; for a child’s room the scene is less suitable.
Can I order it in a different size?
Yes. Send us your width and height and we will quote a price and a lead time.
How long will I wait?
Between 15 and 45 working days; you receive a photograph of the finished painting before dispatch.
- Subject: a young woman in yellow takes a coin from a man in red, an old woman in black watches, and a man with a beret and a cittern looks out at us.
- Original: 1656, signed and dated, oil on canvas, 143 x 130 cm, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden.
- Ours: we paint The Procuress by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 45 x 50 to 190 x 200 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: It is Vermeer’s first genre painting and one of only three works he both signed and dated.
