NATIONAL GALLERY, Vermeer Lady Standing At A Virginal

I'd like to tell you about Lady Standing at a Virginal, a work by one of the greatest Dutch painters of the 17th century, Jan Vermeer. His paintings were created slowly with meticulous care and are very rare: there are only thirty-five worldwide. Jan Vermeer was born in Delft in South Holland, and is famous for his domestic interior scenes which often depict young women carrying out tasks serenely, captured during private and solitary moments.

The canvas depicts a girl standing near a keyboard instrument that was often played by women. The girl is wearing an elegant dress with a blue corset, yellow puff sleeves, and finishes decorated with beads and ribbons. Her hair is pulled up into a bun with some curls falling freely across her forehead....