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Mulher Lendo uma Carta
Johannes Vermeer
c. 1663
Não há janela na imagem, mas a luz vem claramente da esquerda; não podemos ler a carta, mas todo o quarto parece esperar que ela termine. A pintura tem apenas 46,5 × 39 cm — muito menor do que a maioria das pessoas imagina.
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There's no window in this painting. Vermeer still shows you where it is.
JOHANNES VERMEER Woman Reading a Letter c. 1663 · Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Look at the shadow on the wall: he painted it light blue,
cast by an unseen window to the left.
The light falls on her jacket,
its blue made from costly lapis lazuli.
The 2010 restoration found it was first painted wider:
he cut it back.
It's a jacket worn only at home,
so the museum reads the letter as personal.
No window, no words of the letter: only a woman reading.
A slim walnut frame leaves the light alone; warm white continues Vermeer's room.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. A. van der Hoop Bequest. SK-C-251. · Ver o registro de origem