The Milkmaid — About This Work
Johannes Vermeer, c. 1660
About the Work
Vermeer turns an ordinary domestic task into something monumental in The Milkmaid. A maidservant stands behind a table and pours milk into a bowl, completely absorbed in what she is doing. The scene is simple and quiet, but the figure has a remarkable physical presence, standing almost like a statue in the brightly lit room.
Much of the painting's effect comes from Vermeer's handling of light. Daylight enters from the left and catches the woman's face, hands, clothing, bread, basket and earthenware. The Rijksmuseum notes Vermeer's use of small coloured touches to describe light across surfaces, helping give the objects an unusually vivid sense of texture and substance.
Despite the wealth of carefully observed detail, the picture remains exceptionally still. Apart from the thin stream of milk, almost nothing seems to move. That concentration gives the scene its distinctive character: a modest everyday action treated with the gravity, balance and attention usually reserved for a far grander subject.
The Work
Artist: Johannes Vermeer
Title: The Milkmaid
Date: c. 1660
Medium: Oil on canvas
Recorded dimensions: 45.5 cm high × 41 cm wide
Collection: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Object number: SK-A-2344
Print & Presentation
Palatine presentation: 50 × 50 cm frame.
The complete artwork is reproduced at its recorded scale, without enlargement, reduction, cropping or distortion. The surrounding white presentation area accommodates the artwork within the framed presentation and is incorporated into the print rather than added as a separate mount.
Frame finishes: Black, White or Natural.
Paper & glazing: Enhanced Matte + Perspex; Enhanced Matte + Moth-Eye.
Why Original Scale?
Most art-print shops offer the same image in a choice of Small, Medium and Large sizes. We take a different approach. For each edition, we begin with the recorded dimensions of the original work and reproduce the complete image at that scale, preserving its proportions and avoiding enlargement, reduction, cropping or distortion.
Source: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
Care: Display in a dry interior away from prolonged direct sunlight and sources of moisture.
Notes from Palatine
If you would like to stay with us, Notes from Palatine is an occasional letter about newly added works, artists and the thinking behind the collection. There is no fixed schedule; we write when there is something worth sharing.
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