She was writing a letter of her own. Now her pen is still, one hand raised to her chin, as her maid leans in and holds out a folded paper. The maid's face is half in shadow; the mistress, in a yellow jacket trimmed with fur, is caught in the light, unsure.
Who is it from? What does it say? Vermeer doesn't tell us. The letter hasn't been opened yet.
Johannes Vermeer, Mistress and Maid, about 1666–1667. The Frick Collection, New York
The last painting he bought
The American industrialist Henry Clay Frick collected some of the finest paintings in the world. In 1919, he bought this Vermeer. It was the last painting he acquired: he died later that year. Today it hangs in his former home in New York, now the Frick Collection.
Unfinished, or perfect as it is
The background is a plain dark curtain. Some historians think Vermeer may have left the painting slightly unfinished. Whether he did or not, the emptiness works: there's nothing to distract us from the two women and the space between them, where the letter is.
Savour the before
We rush to open things: envelopes, parcels, messages. But there's a particular pleasure in the moment just before, when anything is still possible.
- The next time a letter or parcel arrives for you, don't open it straight away.
- Put it down somewhere you can see it. Make a cup of tea.
- Sit with it for a few minutes. Notice the handwriting, the stamp, the weight.
- Wonder, gently, what might be inside. Notice how you feel: curious, nervous, hopeful.
- Then open it slowly, as if you were in Vermeer's painting.
For more, here's a meditation that begins with opening an envelope and how to reread a letter slowly.
A letter to look forward to
"(letters) On Art" brings a letter and a postcard to your door every month, with the seasonal printed issue of "(meditating) On Art". Something to look forward to, every single month.
Remember to take as much time as you need, and meet me at the next one.
Love, Evi