Johannes Vermeer – Woman in Blue Reading a Letter

Woman in Blue Reading a Letter is Vermeer’s quiet interior of about 1663: a young woman in a blue jacket stands in profile by a table, holds a letter in both hands and is wholly absorbed in it, while light falls on her from a window on the left that we never see. The original, oil on canvas, is only 46.5 cm high and 39 cm wide and belongs to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. We paint it by hand in oil on canvas in 8 portrait sizes, from 40 x 49 to 160 x 190 cm, or to your own measurement; a photograph of the finished painting reaches you before it leaves us.

Woman in Blue Reading a Letter – Johannes Vermeer

What does Woman in Blue Reading a Letter show?

A young woman stands in profile beside a table and reads. She holds the letter with both hands and is so absorbed that the room around her seems to fall silent. The Rijksmuseum notes that she reads in the morning light and is still wearing her blue night jacket.

Behind her a large map of Holland and West Friesland hangs from a rod on the wall. Two chairs with brass nails stand by the table, and on the table lie a box of pearls and some papers. The light comes from the left, from a window that Vermeer leaves outside the canvas.

Vermeer painted her skin in pale grey and the shadows on the wall in light blue. So blue is not only the colour of her jacket but the mood of the whole room, from the hands holding the sheet to the bare wall behind her back.

What do the letter and the map mean?

Vermeer never shows what the letter says. We do not see who sent it or what news it brings; we only see her reading. That silence leaves the viewer room to finish the story.

The map behind her has been read as a hint that a husband or a loved one is travelling far from home. It is an interpretation, not a fact, but it fits the stillness of the scene. A large map also hangs on the back wall in The Art of Painting, there showing the Seventeen Provinces of the Netherlands.

Experts disagree on whether she is pregnant. The loose cut of the jacket may simply have been the fashion of the day, so we make no such claim.

Why do people love this painting?

Because Vermeer makes a whole painting out of a small private moment. There is no action and no grand gesture, only a woman reading, and still people stand in front of it for a long time.

None of his other interiors leaves out the corner of the room, the floor and the ceiling all at once. The wall and the map close the space, the figure stands right in front of us, and nothing draws the eye away from her.

The painting is also small, just 46.5 cm high, and that makes it intimate: you have to step close, almost as if looking over her shoulder. The Wikipedia article has more on its colours and the ways it has been read.

Where is the original, and how did it reach the Rijksmuseum?

The original hangs in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, accession number SK-C-251. The museum dates it to about 1663.

It belonged to Adriaan van der Hoop, who bequeathed it to the City of Amsterdam in 1854. It has been in the Rijksmuseum since the museum opened in 1885, and it was the first Vermeer the Rijksmuseum acquired.

Because the original is small, visitors see it from close up. Our smallest size is near its scale, while the larger ones turn the quiet scene into a painting for a whole wall.

Woman in Blue Reading a Letter or another Vermeer?

This suits calm rooms: a bedroom, a reading corner, a study or a hallway where you like to pause for a moment. It is also a fine gift for someone who still writes letters, or waits for them.

If one figure lit from the left is what draws you, look at The Milkmaid too, where a kitchen maid pours a thin stream of milk into a bowl. For a face that turns straight towards you, there is Girl with a Pearl Earring.

If you would rather have a city than a room, choose View of Delft, Vermeer’s only cityscape. All the famous Vermeer paintings we paint to order are on the Johannes Vermeer page.

How does our painter paint your Woman in Blue?

Every Woman in Blue is painted to order, layer by layer in oil on canvas. The painter first sets down the wall and the large map, then the outlines of the woman, the table and the chairs, so that the proportions are right before any colour comes in.

The hardest part is the blue. The jacket gets several layers, from deep shadow to the bright edges where the light catches it, while the shadows on the wall stay light blue, as Vermeer painted them. The skin is pale and greyish, not pink.

This Vermeer reproduction carries brush marks and layers of paint that a printed copy does not have. An oil painting reproduction like this has a slight relief on its surface, which you notice when the light falls across it from the side.

Which size for which wall?

In short: 40 x 49 or 46 x 55 cm for a bedside table, a shelf or a narrow wall, 60 x 75 or 68 x 85 cm above a chest of drawers or a desk, 90 x 103 or 112 x 135 cm above a bed or a sofa, and 127 x 150 or 160 x 190 cm for a tall wall.

Our 8 portrait sizes are (width x height): 40 x 49, 46 x 55, 60 x 75, 68 x 85, 90 x 103, 112 x 135, 127 x 150 and 160 x 190 cm. The smallest, 40 x 49 cm, is 1 cm wider and 2.5 cm taller than the original, so it stays very close to its scale.

Above a sofa we suggest 112 x 135 cm: as a painting for the living room, that size turns the small scene into a calm centre for the wall. Hang it so that the letter in her hands sits roughly at eye level.

Can I choose another size or a frame?

Yes. The original is roughly 5 : 6 in proportion, so it carries over to almost any portrait size without losing the chairs or the edge of the map. Send us the width and height you need and we will reply with a price and a delivery date.

We send it rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed; our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and the framing. You choose the frame in our 3D application, which is only for choosing the frame; seeing the canvas painting on your own wall is a separate service.

A thin gold frame or natural oak sits well with the blues, while a darker wood brings out the pale wall behind her.

When will the painting arrive?

We start on your Woman in Blue as soon as the order comes in, and within 15 to 45 working days it is ready to ship. Before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting, and if you want something changed, we change it.

Within Slovenia and the rest of the EU it travels without customs duty, and our returns policy applies to every order.

Because the scene is about a letter, it makes a thoughtful gift for someone far away or for someone who loves getting post. To leave the choice of size to the person receiving it, a wall art voucher does the job.

Frequently asked questions

Which museum owns the original?

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, where it has the accession number SK-C-251.

What is she reading?

A letter, but Vermeer does not show its words; the map behind her has been read as a hint of someone away on a journey.

Is it a print?

No. Your Woman in Blue will be a hand-painted copy, with visible brushwork in oil on canvas.

How big is the original?

It is small: 46.5 cm high and 39 cm wide. Our smallest size, 40 x 49 cm, is only a little larger.

Is it suitable for a bedroom?

Yes, the scene is quiet and calm, so it suits a bedroom, a reading corner or a study.

Can you paint it in a size you do not list?

Of course. Write to us with the width and height you need, and we will prepare an offer with a date.

How long does it take?

The painting is ready in 15 to 45 working days, and you get a photograph of it before dispatch.

Is the woman pregnant?

Opinions differ; the loose jacket may simply have been the fashion of that time.

• Subject: a young woman in a blue jacket reads a letter in profile, with a map of Holland and West Friesland behind her.
• Original: c. 1663, oil on canvas, 46.5 x 39 cm, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
• Ours: hand-painted in oil on canvas, 8 portrait sizes from 40 x 49 to 160 x 190 cm or a size of your choice.
• Worth knowing: it was the first Vermeer the Rijksmuseum acquired.