The Lacemaker Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)

Description of Jan Vermeer’s painting The Lacemaker

"The Lacewoman" is a typical Baroque-era canvas in Dutch painting. Certain subjects, the features and proportions of the characters’ bodies, and the colors are all hallmarks of Dutch painting.

The canvas depicts a young girl. She is concentrating on her craft - she is knitting lace, delicate and exquisite. The canvas depicts the girl’s work from a close distance. You can’t look at the whole picture at once, the view moves constantly, lingering alternately on one and another detail. In order to focus the author of the painting uses an interesting move - the closer objects are painted blurred. Nevertheless, it is easy to distinguish the needle-pad, as well as several threads of different colors hanging from it. The cushion is a very important item for any lacemaker - with its help the lace was weaved, as the cushion was a kind of prop.

On the table there is a thick tapestry tablecloth with an interesting pattern. It is difficult to make out, but it is noticeable that it is bright and exquisite. This fabric was obviously brought from distant countries. The girl herself weaves the lace on a special table, in fact, it is a machine for spinning lace. It could be adjusted, changing its position.

The room is modestly decorated - white walls, traditionally whitewashed walls for the Renaissance.

Near the lace you can notice a book. You can see that it is upholstered with expensive cloth - so the book is probably a church book. Of course, special girls became lacemakers, it was a craft for the best young ladies, as only the select few were allowed such fine work.

The girl is pale. Her head is adorned with her hair neatly arranged in a hairdo. It is impossible to see the girl’s face as she is bent over her work.