Artwork
Young Woman Writing a Letter
Young Woman Writing a Letter is an oil painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Frans van Mieris the Elder. It dates from 1670 and is held in the collection of the Hermitage Museum.
About this work
Technique & Style
Frans van Mieris the Elder utilized oil paint to render the intimate scene, focusing on the precise details of the figure and her activity.
Created in 1670, Young Woman Writing a Letter is an oil painting executed on a small-scale support measuring 18.5 cm in height and 14.8 cm in width. The work exemplifies the genre art tradition, depicting a woman engaged in the act of writing with a quill. Frans van Mieris the Elder utilized oil paint to render the intimate scene, focusing on the precise details of the figure and her activity.
The composition reflects the refined handling characteristic of the artist's style during this period, capturing a quiet moment of daily life within a compact format.
History & Provenance
Young Woman Writing a Letter is an oil painting by Frans van Mieris the Elder, created in 1670. The work measures 18.5 cm in height and 14.8 cm in width and depicts a woman writing with a quill. It is held in the Hermitage Museum and the Leiden Collection, and has been part of private collections. The painting was classified as a genre scene and executed in oil paint.
The artwork's creation history is documented through its inception date of 1670, with both institutional records and scholarly catalogues confirming its authorship and medium.
Young Woman Writing a Letter, painted by Frans van Mieris the Elder in 1670, is associated with both the Hermitage Museum and the Leiden Collection, with the work noted as being in a private collection. The painting is a small-scale panel measuring 18.5 by 14.8 cm. No specific inventory or accession number is recorded in the available sources, and no exhibition history is documented.
Overview
Frans van Mieris the Elder, a prominent Leiden painter of the Dutch Golden Age, completed the oil painting Young Woman Writing a Letter in 1670. The work belongs to his series of genre scenes that depict intimate moments of daily life with refined precision. It is presently part of the State Hermitage Museum’s collection.
Subject & Meaning
The composition centers on a young woman seated at a wooden table, her sleeve rolled back as she writes with a quill. An open book lies nearby, and a candle provides a soft glow that illuminates her face and hands, emphasizing the concentration of the act of correspondence.
Artist & collection
Artist
Frans van Mieris the Elder (16 April 1635 – 12 March 1681), was a Dutch Golden Age genre and portrait painter.
