The Love Letter, by Willem Bartel van der Kooi, 1808
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The Love Letter

Also titled De minnebrief

Willem Bartel van der Kooi (Augustinusga, 1768–1836)

1808

Medium
canvas, oil paint (paint)
Classification
painting
Dimensions
height 131 cm x width 108 cm
Museum
Rijksmuseum
Credit line
Gift of H. van der Kooi, Leeuwarden
Rights
Public Domain Mark, as the museum states it.
Who can see it
Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed

View at the Rijksmuseum

About this work

Dutch artists of the 19th century drew inspiration from the 17th century, the Golden Age of Dutch art. In this picture, Van der Kooi reprised a typically 17th-century theme, the delivery of a love letter. The tension between the lady and the young messenger is almost palpable. Yet The Love Letter is also highly contemporary, for the interior, hairstyles and clothing are entirely in keeping with the fashions of 1808.