◧ Artist: Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)
◧ Country: Netherlands
◧ Title: [Woman Writing a Letter, with Her Maid]
◧ Medium: Oil painting on canvas
◧ Painting Size: 71.1 x 60.5 cm
◧ Medium: Oil painting on canvas
◧ Painting Size: 71.1 x 60.5 cm
◧ Museum: National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
◧ Country of Stamp Issue: Netherlands◧ Date of Issue: Feb 27, 1996
◧ Face Value: 70 Dutch Cents
◧ Issued to commemorate a special Vermeer exhibition at Mauritshuis
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Vermeer’s work displays an unprecedented level of artistic mastery in its illusion of reality. His figures are often quiet and inactive, contributing to the solemn and mysterious atmosphere of his paintings.
This painting, [Woman Writing a Letter, with her Maid], is one of the most ingenious compositions of Vermeer’s late career. While a maidservant stares out of a window, her mistress writes a letter. In the foreground on the floor, lie a red seal, a stick of sealing wax and an object which is probably a letter-writing manual, often used for personal correspondence at the time. (excerpt from the painting description at National Gallery of Ireland)
The painting was stolen twice in 1974 and 1986 from Russborough House, home of Sir Alfred Beit, before it was recovered in 1993 and found a way to the National Gallery of Ireland.
The stamp and souvenir sheet were issued to commemorate a special exhibition held at Mauritshuis, Netherlands in 1996, when the painting was loaned from National Gallery of Ireland for the exhibition at Hague from March 1 to June 2, 1996.
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