Description
Study of a Young Woman is a painting by Johannes Vermeer from about 1665–1667: a young woman turns her head over her shoulder towards us, wrapped in a pale grey-ochre shawl, with a pearl at her ear and the hint of a smile at the corners of her mouth, and behind her nothing but deep darkness. The original, oil on canvas, measures 44.5 cm in height and 40 cm in width and belongs to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Our painter paints it to order in oils on canvas, in one of 8 portrait sizes between 43 x 47 and 172 x 200 cm or to your own measurements, and you receive a photograph of the finished painting before it is sent.
| Title: | Study of a Young Woman |
| Other titles: | Portrait of a Young Woman · Girl with a Veil |
| Painter: | Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) |
| Year painted: | c. 1665–1667 |
| Original size: | 44.5 cm x 40 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no. 1979.396.1) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
Study of a Young Woman – Johannes Vermeer
What does Study of a Young Woman show?
There is only one person on the canvas. A young woman sits side-on, then turns her head over her shoulder and looks straight at us. There is no room around her, only a deep black from which her pale face emerges as if lit by a lamp.
A pale shawl in greys and ochres wraps her shoulders and falls down her back in soft folds. A pearl hangs at her ear with a tiny white point of light, and her thin lips lift slightly at the corners, as if she were about to smile.
The face is not flattered. The eyes are set wide apart, the nose is small, the head large for the body. That plainness gives the painting its warmth: not an ideal beauty but a real girl who has noticed someone looking at her.
What does the glance over the shoulder mean?
Experts believe Vermeer painted not a portrait in the usual sense but a tronie, the Dutch 17th-century name for heads and expressions that buyers prized for unusual costumes, intriguing features and the painter’s skill.
He probably worked from a live model. Because the face is not idealised, some think the work was commissioned; it is also possible that one of his daughters sat for him. There is no certain answer.
The dark ground isolates her, so she seems vulnerable and trusting at once, as if waiting for us to speak. The writer Edward Snow saw in it a longing for perfect beauty turning into a loving acceptance of what is flawed.
Why is Study of a Young Woman so well known?
It was painted at about the same time as the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring and is almost exactly the same size. Both girls wear pearl earrings, both have a scarf over their shoulders, and both appear against a bare black background.
It is therefore sometimes seen as a variant or a companion piece. Both are unusual for Vermeer, who otherwise liked to paint richly furnished rooms with maps, carpets and windows.
For both works it has been suggested that the painter used an optical device such as a camera obscura or a mirror, although the idea is widely disputed. The Wikipedia article (in English) has more on its history.
Where is the original, and how did it get there?
The original hangs in New York, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, under accession number 1979.396.1. The canvas is 44.5 cm high and 40 cm wide, a small and intimate format.
It may first have belonged to Pieter Claesz van Ruijven, a citizen of Delft, and then to his family. In 1816 it was sold in Rotterdam for just 3 Dutch guilders, a trifling sum even then.
By 1829 it was owned by Prince d’Arenberg in Brussels, and it stayed with that family until the 1950s. New York collectors Charles and Jayne Wrightsman then bought it and gave it to the museum in 1979, in memory of curator Theodore Rousseau Jr.
Study of a Young Woman or another Vermeer?
This canvas painting suits the quiet corners of a home: a bedroom, a reading nook or the wall above a chest in the hall, since a single face on a dark ground needs little space to hold the eye.
If you would like a girl in a bright room, look at Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, where she opens a window. The Guitar Player brings music and laughter, while Woman Holding a Balance offers quiet concentration.
You will find every one of the famous Vermeer paintings we offer on the Johannes Vermeer page.
How does our painter paint your Study of a Young Woman?
Once your order arrives, the painter first lays in the dark ground, which must be deep and even but never dead, since it decides how strongly the face will glow.
Then he builds the face in thin layers: the shadow under the chin, the light on the forehead and cheek, the moist shine of the eyes. The shawl gets soft transitions between grey and ochre, and the pearl comes last, with a single bright point and a faint reflection below it.
What you receive is a Vermeer reproduction with visible brushstrokes and layers of paint; a print cannot render such a deep black. An oil painting reproduction also lives with the light of your room, so the face looks fresh by day and warmer and closer in the evening.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 43 x 47 or 50 x 55 cm above a bedside table, in a hallway or on a narrow wall, 68 x 75 or 75 x 85 cm above a chest of drawers or a bed, 98 x 104 or 120 x 140 cm above a sofa, and 140 x 150 or 172 x 200 cm for a tall wall.
Study of a Young Woman comes in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 43 x 47, 50 x 55, 68 x 75, 75 x 85, 98 x 104, 120 x 140, 140 x 150 and 172 x 200 cm. The closest to the original is 43 x 47 cm, which is 3 cm wider and 2.5 cm taller.
The smaller sizes keep the quiet eye-to-eye encounter of the original, while the larger ones turn the face into a gaze that greets you as you walk in. As a painting for the living room, 98 x 104 cm suits the wall above a sofa; hang it so that her eyes sit a little above your own eye level.
Can I have a different size or a frame?
Yes. The original is roughly 9 : 10 in proportion, so we can transfer it to an unlisted size without losing the pearl or the shawl at the edges. Tell us the width and height you have in mind, and we will reply with a price and a delivery time.
We ship it rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or ready framed, and our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and framing. You choose the frame in our 3D application, which serves for frame selection only; seeing the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
A plain black or dark brown frame suits the black ground, and a narrow gold moulding picks up the warm glow of the pearl and the shawl.
When will the painting arrive?
Once your order is in, we paint the work and have it ready to ship within 15 to 45 working days. Before it goes out we send you a photograph of the finished painting, and if you wish, we change something.
Within Slovenia and to other EU countries it travels without customs formalities, and our returns policy applies to the purchase.
A girl glancing back over her shoulder makes a gentle gift for a birthday, an anniversary or a new home. If you would rather let the recipient pick the size, give a wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I see the original?
In the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, accession number 1979.396.1.
Who is the girl in the painting?
Nobody knows. It may have been a commission, or one of Vermeer’s daughters may have sat for it.
What is a tronie?
A Dutch 17th-century painting of a head or an expression, not meant as the portrait of a particular person.
Will I receive a print?
No. Each one we deliver is a hand-painted copy, made with a brush and oil paint on canvas.
How large is the original painting?
It is 44.5 cm high and 40 cm wide; our nearest size is 43 x 47 cm.
Does it suit a bedroom?
Very well: a calm face on a dark ground works above a bed or in a reading corner.
Can I get a size of my own choosing?
Yes, we also paint it in a size you specify; first we tell you the price and the time needed.
How long will I wait?
Between 15 and 45 working days, and you see a photograph of the finished painting before it is shipped.
- Subject: a young woman in a pale grey-ochre shawl turns over her shoulder towards us against a dark ground, a pearl at her ear.
- Original: c. 1665–1667, oil on canvas, 44.5 x 40 cm, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
- Ours: painted by hand in oil on canvas once you order, in 8 portrait sizes between 43 x 47 and 172 x 200 cm or to your own measurements.
- Worth knowing: it was painted around the same time as Girl with a Pearl Earring and is almost the same size.
