A Young Woman standing at a Virginal

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JOHANNES VERMEER, 1632–1675
1383 A Young Woman standing at a Virginal

Neil MacLaren, revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, 1991

Extracted from:
Neil MacLaren; revised and expanded by Christopher Brown, The Dutch School 1600–1900 (London: National Gallery Publications Limited, 1991).

Plate 393

On the wall behind is a landscape painting and a picture of Cupid with his bow, holding up a (?)card. A landscape is painted on the inside of the virginal’s lid. There is a skirting of blue and white Delft tiles with single figures.

Signed in the top left corner of the side of the virginal: IVMeer (or IMeer; the capitals are in monogram).

**Vol. 2, p. 481, 3**
Signatures: Vermeer (No. 1383) © The National Gallery, London

Oil on canvas, 51.7 × 45.2 cm (20⅜ × 1713⁄16).

Cleaned in 1967. The blue chair in the right foreground is blanched: this may be caused by ‘ultramarine disease’.

Discussion

The painting of Cupid appears also in the background of another picture by Vermeer: Girl interrupted at her Music in the Frick Collection, New York.¹ It has been reasonably attributed to Cesar van Everdingen² and it may be the Cupido mentioned in the inventory of Vermeer’s widow’s possessions drawn up in 1676. De Jongh³ has related its presence in the painting to an emblem in Otto Vaenius’ Amorum Emblemata (Antwerp, 1608) which shows a Cupid lifting up a small tablet while treading another under foot. The raised tablet bears the number one while the numbers two to ten are inscribed on [page 1.467]the latter. The accompanying verses praise fidelity to one rather than the love of many. He suggests that Vermeer intended to introduce the idea of fidelity in his painting by the inclusion of this picture within the painting. It should be noted, however, that there is no trace of a digit on the card (or tablet) held up by the Cupid.

More recently this idea has been expanded upon. The idea that Nos. 1383 and 2568 form a pair has been revived:⁴ they are almost exactly the same size and belong stylistically to the same period in Vermeer’s career. (They have, however, differing provenances in the eighteenth century.) It has been argued that the two paintings have as their deliberately contrasted subjects two kinds of love, faithful and mercenary (the mercenary theme of No. 2568 deriving from the presence of Baburen’s The Procuress on the back wall, see below) and as such participate in the ever‐popular theme of the choice between two paths in life, known in its most familiar form in the subject of Hercules at the Crossroads. The present writer is sceptical of this interpretation which depends on a series of quite unverifiable hypotheses. It seems more likely that the paintings simply allude in a non‐specific way to the traditional association of music and love.⁵

The landscape on the left is in the manner of Jan Wijnants. No. 1383 is painted in the meticulous technique of Vermeer’s late years. It has been dated by both MacLaren and Blankert⁶ to c. 1670.

PROVENANCE: No. 1383 may be identifiable with the ‘Young lady playing on the virginal’ by Vermeer in the collection of Diego Duarte, Antwerp, 1682,⁷ or that in an Anon. sale [possibly the collection of Jacobus Abrahamsz. Dissius of Delft (d. October 1695)]⁸, Amsterdam, 16 May 1696 (lot 37), 42 guilders,⁹ or the ‘Woman virginal player in a room’ in an Anon, sale, Amsterdam, 11 July 1714 (lot 12), 55 guilders,¹⁰ but any of these might equally well be the Young Woman seated at a Virginal (No. 2568 below). No. 1383 is presumably the ‘Young lady standing before a virginal to play, with pictures on the wall’ in the Jan Danser Nijman sale, Amsterdam, 16–17 August 1797 (lot 169),¹¹ bought by Berg (19 or 49 guilders). It is said to have been in the collection of Edward Solly,¹² London; it was not traceable in any of the many Solly sales.¹³ It was certainly in the Edward William Lake sale, London, 11–12 July 1845 (lot 5),¹⁴ bought by Farrer (15 gns) and the [J. P. Thom] sale, London, 2 May 1855 (lot 22),¹⁵ bought by Grey (145 gns). By 1866 it was in the collection of Etienne‐Joseph‐Théophile Thoré (pseudonym: ‘W. Bürger’), Paris,¹⁶ by whom it was lent to exhibitions in Paris (1866) and in Amsterdam (1867). Thoré died in 1869 and the picture passed with a large part of his collection to the Lacroix family, Paris;¹⁷ it was in the ‘Thoré‐Bürger’ collection sale, Paris, 5 December 1892 (lot 30),¹⁸ 29,000 francs, bought by Lawrie & Co. of London, from whom it was purchased in the same month.

EXHIBITIONS: Paris, Palais des Champs‐Elysées, Exposition Rétrospective, May 1866 , No. 108; Amsterdam, Arti et Amicitiae Society, 1867 , No. 274; London 1976, No. 116.

REFERENCES:

General: HdG No. 23; Blankert et al. , op. cit. , cat. no. 25.

In text:

1. Blankert et al. , op. cit. , B2. Although Blankert is correct to point out the poor state of preservation of the painting, there can be no doubt about its attribution to Vermeer. (Back to text.)

2. A. Delbanco, Abraham Bloemaert, 1928, p. 64, note. Jan van Bronchorst ( c. 1603–61) is mentioned as an alternative by A. B. de Vries, Jan Vermeer van Delft, 1948 (English ed.), p. 95. (Back to text.)

3. E. de Jongh, Zinne‐ en Minnebeelden in de Schilderkunst van de 17de eeuw, 1976, pp. 49–50. (Back to text.)

4. By Christine Armstrong in a paper delivered at the Frick Collection, New York, in 1976. (Back to text.)

5. For this traditional association see, for example, de Jongh, op. cit. (Back to text.)

6. Blankert et al. , op. cit. (Back to text.)

7. Item 176 of the inventory of Diego Duarte’s pictures made in 1682 was: ‘Een stukxken met een jouffrou op de clavesingel spelende met bywerck van Vermeer, Kost … guld. 150’ (see Blankert et al. , op. cit. , pp. 211–12) (Back to text.)

[page 1.468]

8. See Elisabeth Neurdenberg in OH , vol. 59, 1942, pp. 72–3, and vol. 66, 1951, pp. 37–9. (Back to text.)

9. ‘Een Spelende Juffrouw op de Clavecimbael van dito [Vermeer]’ (see Hoet, vol. 1, p. 36). (Back to text.)

10. ‘Een Klavecimbaelspeelster in een Kamer, van Vermeer van Delft’ (see Hoet, vol. 1, p. 176). (Back to text.)

11. ‘Een Juffrouw, staande voor een Clavecimbael te speelen; aan de Wand hangen Schilderijen …’; canvas, 20 × 17 duim (not lot 159 as HdG states). (Back to text.)

12. According to the catalogue of the Lake sale 1845. The picture is sometimes said to have been in the Solly sale of 8 May 1847 (e.g. by HdG , No. 23) but this is due to a misreading of the provenance given by W. Bürger (in GB‐A 1866, part ii, pp. 556–7, No. 29; Bürger mentions the Lake sale but gives its date wrongly as 1847). (Back to text.)

13. It is not in the catalogues of any of the Solly sales listed in Lugt, vols. 1 and 2. (Back to text.)

14. A cutting of the relevant part of the Lake sale catalogue is pasted on the back; see also note 12. (Back to text.)

15. The markings connected with this sale are on the back of the picture. (Back to text.)

16. See W. Bürger in GB‐A 1866, ii, pi. 556, No. 29; etching by Valentin (opposite p. 326). (Back to text.)

17. See A. Heppner in OH , vol. 65, 1938, p. 140 (cf. H. Havard, Van der Meer de Delft, [1888], p. 37, No. 32). (Back to text.)

18. Reproduced in error in the sale catalogue as lot 32, which was National Gallery No. 2568. (Back to text.)

Glossary

duim: (pouce) lit. thumb, a unit of measurement, 2.57 cm, or 1/11th of a voet
voet: Lit. a foot. A unit of measurement: an Amsterdam foot was equivalent to 28.31 cm (11 inches)

Abbreviations

GBA: Gazette des beaux‐arts, Paris, 1859–
OH: Oud Holland, Amsterdam, 1883—1972, The Hague, 1973–

List of references cited

Blankert, Montias and Aillaud 1988: Blankert, A., J. M. Montias and G. Aillaud, Vermeer, New York 1988
Bürger 1866: Bürger, W., in Gazette des Beaux‐Arts, 1866, part ii
Davies 1959: Davies, Martin, National Gallery Catalogues: The British School, revised edn, London 1959
Davies and Gould 1970: Davies, Martin, revised by Cecil Gould, National Gallery Catalogues: French School Early 19th Century, Impressionists, Post‐Impressionists, etc., London 1970
de Jongh 1969: Jongh, E. de, ‘The Spur of Wit: Rembrandt’s Response to an Italian Challenge’, Delta, Summer 1969, 49–67
de Jongh 1976: Jongh, E. de, Zinne– en Minnebeelden in de Schilderkunst van de 17de eeuw, 1976
Delbanco 1928: Delbanco, A., Abraham Bloemaert, 1928
Havard 1888: Havard, H., Van der Meer de Delft, [1888]
Heppner 1938: Heppner, A., in Oud Holland, 1938, 65
Hoet 1752/1770: Hoet, G., Catalogus of Naamlyst van Schilderyen met derzelver pryzen…, 3 vols, The Hague 1752 and 1770
Hofstede de Groot 1907–28: Hofstede de Groot, C., Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century, 10 vols (vols 9 and 10 are in German), London, Stuttgart and Paris 1907–28
Lugt 1938–87: Lugt, Frits, Répertoire des catalogues de ventes publiques intéressant l’art ou la curiosité … par Frits Lugt, 4 vols, The Hague 1938–87
Neurdenberg 1942: Neurdenberg, Elisabeth, in Oud Holland, 1942, 59, 72–3
Neurdenberg 1951: Neurdenberg, Elisabeth, in Oud Holland, 1951, 66, 37–9
Vaenius 1608: Vaenius, Otto, Amorum Emblemata, Antwerp 1608

List of exhibitions cited

Amsterdam 1867: Amsterdam, Arti et Amicitiae Society, 1867
London, National Gallery, 1976: London, National Gallery, Art in Seventeenth–Century Holland, 1976
Paris 1866: Paris, Palais des Champs‐Elysées, Exposition Rétrospective, May 1866

Explanatory Notes on the Catalogue

SEQUENCE The paintings are arranged alphabetically according to the name of the artist or school.

ATTRIBUTION A picture catalogued under the name of the artist is considered to be by him. ‘Attributed to’ qualifies the attribution. ‘Ascribed to’ indicates a greater degree of doubt. ‘Workshop of’ or ‘Follower of’ are self‐explanatory. ‘Style of’ indicates that the painting is an imitation or copy painted after the artist’s lifetime. A list of attributions which have been changed from the first edition of this catalogue (published in 1960) is given on pages 510–13.

INVENTORY NUMBER The National Gallery inventory number is to be found to the left of the picture title.

MEASUREMENTS These are given in centimetres, followed by inches in brackets. Height precedes width.

RIGHT and LEFT These indicate the viewer’s right and left, unless the context clearly implies the contrary.

BIOGRAPHIES MacLaren’s biographical notes on painters have been expanded and brought up to date when there is no accessible and reliable modern literature. Where such literature exists, these notes have been kept to a minimum.

REFERENCES The bibliographical references, though selective, include publications which appeared before mid‐1989. References to books and articles which appeared subsequently and which the author considered to be of importance are referred to within square brackets but could not be taken into account in the catalogue entries themselves.

LISTS AND INDEXES At the back of this volume are lists of paintings acquired since the last edition of this catalogue and changed attributions. There are also indexes to religious subjects, profane subjects, topography, previous owners, years of acquisition and inventory number.

ILLUSTRATIONS The plates of the paintings included in the catalogue are in the second volume, together with all the signatures which could be reproduced. The comparative plates are included in Volume 1.

[page 1.xiv]

VAN ‘van’ has been used in lower case throughout in accordance with The Oxford Dictionary for Writers and Editors. The ‘van’ has been omitted for certain artists as is customary, e.g. ‘Jacob van Ruisdael’, but ‘Ruisdael’.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES ‘ op. cit. ’ may refer back to books and articles referred to under the artist’s biography (rather than in the particular catalogue entry).

CHRISTIE’S AND SOTHEBY’S Unless another location is mentioned, the sales referred to took place in London.

CLEANING The cleaning of paintings which took place before 1945 is not referred to, unless the circumstances were exceptional.

CONDITION All the paintings have been examined during the preparation of this catalogue. In many cases the condition is described, sometimes in considerable detail. If the condition is not described, the painting can be presumed to be in good condition.

PROVENANCE AND EXHIBITIONS There are separate headings for provenance and exhibitions in individual catalogue entries. In certain cases, when nineteenth‐century paintings were included in dealers’ exhibitions for example, these two sections have been conflated , .

VAN GOGH The National Gallery’s four paintings by Van Gogh (Inv. nos. 3861, 3862, 3863 and 4169) are not catalogued in this volume but in The French School by Cecil Gould.

CORNELIUS JOHNSON The one painting (Inv. no. 6280) in the National Gallery by Johnson, who was born in London of Dutch parents but moved to the Netherlands after the outbreak of the Civil War, is not included in this catalogue but in The British School by Martin Davies.

Explanatory note

This volume contains the illustrations for the catalogue of the Dutch School published in Volume 1.

The pictures and their attributions are discussed in detail in the catalogue; in this volume only the title, the artist (or attribution) and the inventory number are given.

At the end of the volume are plates of all the signatures that could be reproduced. In the interest of clarity some of these have been enlarged.

About this version

Version 1, generated from files NM_CB_1991__16.xml dated 14/10/2024 and database__16.xml dated 16/10/2024 using stylesheet 16_teiToHtml_externalDb.xsl dated 14/10/2024. Structural mark-up applied to skeleton document in full; document updated to use external database of archival and bibliographic references; entries for NG6483, NG6458, NG830, NG4503, NG835, NG6444, NG212, NG54, NG221, NG672, NG1675, NG6350, NG990, NG2531, NG6442, NG871, NG1383, NG2568 and NG6522 proofread and prepared for publication; entries for NG1383, NG2568, NG54, NG5417, NG6458, NG6522, NG672 and NG835 proofread following mark-up and corrected.

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Permalink (this version): https://data.ng.ac.uk/087N-000B-0000-0000
Permalink (latest version): https://data.ng.ac.uk/086S-000B-0000-0000
Chicago style: MacLaren, Neil and Christopher Brown. "1383 A Young Woman standing at a Virginal". 1991, online version 1, October 17, 2024. https://data.ng.ac.uk/087N-000B-0000-0000.
Harvard style: MacLaren, Neil and Brown, Christopher (1991) 1383 A Young Woman standing at a Virginal. Online version 1, London: National Gallery, 2024. Available at: https://data.ng.ac.uk/087N-000B-0000-0000 (Accessed: 22 December 2024).
MHRA style: MacLaren, Neil and Christopher Brown, 1383 A Young Woman standing at a Virginal (National Gallery, 1991; online version 1, 2024) <https://data.ng.ac.uk/087N-000B-0000-0000> [accessed: 22 December 2024]