The Milkmaid, by Johannes Vermeer, c. 1660
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The Milkmaid

Also titled Het melkmeisje

Johannes Vermeer (Delft, 1632–1675)

c. 1660

Medium
canvas, oil paint (paint)
Classification
painting
Dimensions
height 45.5 cm x width 41 cm
Museum
Rijksmuseum
Credit line
Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt
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

A maidservant pours milk, entirely absorbed in her work. Except for the stream of milk, everything else is still. Vermeer took this simple everyday activity and made it the subject of an impressive painting – the woman stands like a statue in the brightly lit room. Vermeer also had an eye for how light by means of hundreds of colourful dots plays over the surface of objects.