Description
A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal is one of the last paintings by Johannes Vermeer, made around 1670–1672: a young woman in a shining blue satin dress sits at a virginal, plays, and turns her face towards us. A viola da gamba leans in the left foreground, a painted landscape decorates the inside of the raised lid, and on the wall behind her hangs a painting of a procuress scene. The original, oil on canvas, is 51.5 cm high and 45.5 cm wide and belongs to the National Gallery in London. Our painter paints it by hand in oil on canvas to your order, in one of 8 portrait sizes from 43 x 47 to 172 x 200 cm or made to measure, and we send you a photograph before it is dispatched.
| Title: | A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal |
| Other titles: | Zittende virginaalspeelster · Lady Seated at a Virginal |
| Painter: | Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) |
| Year painted: | c. 1670–1672 |
| Original size: | 51.5 cm x 45.5 cm (height x width) |
| Original technique: | Oil on canvas |
| Painting style: | Baroque, Dutch Golden Age |
| Located at: | The National Gallery, London (acc. no. NG2568) |
| Our reproduction: | Hand-painted oil on canvas, 8 sizes or made to measure |
A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal – Johannes Vermeer
What does A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal show?
A young woman sits at a virginal, a keyboard instrument related to the harpsichord, and plays. Her body is turned to the left, towards the keys, yet she has turned her head and looks out at us, as if we had just walked into the room.
Her dress is blue satin, and the cloth gleams in broad, soft folds over her lap. At the upper left a heavy blue curtain hangs into the scene.
In the left foreground stands a viola da gamba, a bowed string instrument held between the knees, with its bow pushed in between the strings.
The inside of the raised virginal lid carries a painted landscape. On the wall behind the young woman hangs a large painting of a procuress scene: either Dirck van Baburen’s The Procuress itself or a copy of it.
What does the painting on the wall tell us?
The picture within the picture comes from Vermeer’s own family circle. Baburen painted his procuress around 1622; according to Wikipedia the canvas, or a copy of it, belonged to Vermeer’s mother-in-law, and the Baburen is now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
The sources do not say why Vermeer hung a procuress scene behind a calm young musician; whether warning, joke or family furniture, the meaning is left to each viewer.
The idle viola da gamba raises a second question. With its bow resting between the strings it seems to wait for a second player, perhaps the very person the young woman is looking at; this, too, is a reading, not a fact.
Music was a theme Vermeer returned to. Keyboard instruments appear in several of his canvases, The Concert among them, and scholars believe they may all be based on one and the same instrument, built by Johannes Ruckers.
Why is this late Vermeer so admired?
Part of its fame comes from its likely partner. The same London gallery owns A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal, and because size, date and subject are so close, it has been suggested that the two were painted as a pair.
A recent study found that the canvases of the two London paintings came from the same bolt of cloth. Their ground looks identical too, and so does that of A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals in New York, a separate painting often confused with this one.
Even so, the question is not closed: before the 19th century the two London canvases had different owners, and Vermeer sometimes returned to a theme in paintings that were otherwise unrelated.
In the 19th century the art critic Théophile Thoré owned both, and his writings revived interest in Vermeer from 1866 onwards. More on the dating and the pairing is in the Wikipedia article (in English).
Where is the original of A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal?
The original belongs to the National Gallery in London, which lists it as NG2568. It entered the collection in 1910 with the Salting Bequest.
The canvas is 51.5 cm high and 45.5 cm wide. On grounds of style it has been dated to about 1670, in the last years of the painter, who died in 1675.
A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal or another Vermeer?
This canvas painting is at home wherever music is played: beside a piano, in a music corner or in a room where someone practises.
For a scene in which a keyboard instrument again takes centre stage, choose The Music Lesson. From the same late years, 1670–1672, comes the large Allegory of the Catholic Faith, which with The Art of Painting is his only allegorical work.
All the other famous Vermeer paintings we make are gathered on the Johannes Vermeer page.
How does our painter paint your Young Woman at a Virginal?
After you confirm the order, the painter sketches the composition on the canvas and first lays in the large dark and light areas: the curtain, the wall with its painting, the instrument and the figure.
The blue satin is built up in thin layers, so that the folds turn from deep blue to almost white where the light catches them. The face turned towards us gets particular care, because it decides whether the young woman really meets your gaze.
The details come last: the landscape on the lid, the scene on the wall, the strings of the viola da gamba and the bow between them. The result is an oil painting reproduction with visible brushwork that no print can replace.
Which size for which wall?
In short: 43 x 47 or 50 x 55 cm beside a piano or on a narrow wall, 64 x 76 or 72 x 85 cm above a chest of drawers or a desk, 97 x 106 or 120 x 140 cm above a sofa, and 135 x 160 or 172 x 200 cm for a high wall or a stairwell.
We paint it in 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 43 x 47, 50 x 55, 64 x 76, 72 x 85, 97 x 106, 120 x 140, 135 x 160 and 172 x 200 cm. Nearest to the original are 43 x 47 cm, which is 2.5 cm narrower and 4.5 cm lower, and 50 x 55 cm, which is 4.5 cm wider and 3.5 cm taller.
As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 97 x 106 cm is a good choice: the young woman’s face then reads clearly from the far side of the room.
Can I choose another size or a frame?
Yes. The original is roughly 8 : 9 in proportion, so an unlisted size is easy to paint. Tell us the width and height on our page for paintings made to order and we will quote a price and a delivery time.
The painting comes rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed and ready to hang; our workshop in Slovenia does the stretching and the framing. You pick the frame in our 3D application, which is meant for that choice alone; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service.
A narrow black frame suits the cool blue of the satin, while a gilded frame gives the small interior a more festive, old-master air.
When will my Young Woman at a Virginal arrive?
Painting starts once you confirm the order, and 15 to 45 working days later your painting is ready to ship. We first send you a photograph of the finished canvas, and if you want something adjusted, we adjust it.
Deliveries within Slovenia and the rest of the EU involve no customs, and our returns policy covers every order.
This Vermeer reproduction makes a fitting present for a pianist or a piano teacher. If you would rather leave the size to them, give them a wall art voucher.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the original kept today?
In the National Gallery in London, number NG2568, since 1910.
What is the young woman doing?
She is playing the virginal and has turned her head to look at the viewer.
Is it a printed picture?
No, it is a hand-painted copy, made by our painter with brush and oil colours on canvas.
How large is the original?
It is 51.5 cm high and 45.5 cm wide; our nearest sizes are 43 x 47 and 50 x 55 cm.
Can you paint it in my own size?
Yes, send us the width and height, and you learn the price and timing first.
How long will I wait for it?
Between 15 and 45 working days, then we ship it, with no customs inside the EU.
Is it a good gift for a musician?
Yes: a virginal and a viola da gamba speak to anyone who plays or loves music.
Is it the same painting as the seated woman at the virginals in New York?
No, that is a separate work in a New York collection; this one belongs to the National Gallery in London.
- Subject: a young woman in blue satin plays a virginal and looks at us.
- Original: c. 1670–1672, oil on canvas, 51.5 x 45.5 cm, The National Gallery, London.
- Ours: oil on canvas, hand-painted to order, in 8 portrait sizes from 43 x 47 to 172 x 200 cm or made to measure.
- Worth knowing: its canvas came from the same bolt as that of the standing woman at a virginal in the same gallery.
