Johannes VermeerDutch, 1632–1675Portrait of a Young Woman
Study of a Young Woman
May one see it?
Yes, receiving visitors
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Room614New York, United States
On public display.
- Checked
- 4 hours ago
- In this state since
- Aug 16, 2026
- Source
- The museum's own collection data
About the painting
Study of a Young Woman (also known as Portrait of a Young Woman or Girl with a Veil) is a painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, completed between 1665 and 1667, and now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The painting was painted around the same time as the better-known Girl with a Pearl Earring and has a near-identical size. Because of this, and its proximity in tone and composition, it is sometimes considered to be either a variant or pendant painting (counterpart) of Girl with a Pearl Earring. The subjects of both paintings wear pearl earrings, have scarves draped over their shoulders, and are shown in front of a plain black background. In addition, it has been suggested (though this has also been widely contested) that the creation of both works involved the use of some optical device, such as a camera obscura or mirror, as the Hockney–Falco thesis speculates.
Particulars
- Accession number
- 1979.396.1
- Credit line
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in memory of Theodore Rousseau Jr., 1979
What it shows
Sources
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art: the museum's own open data · fetched 4 days ago
- Image: The Metropolitan Museum of Art — CC0 (The Met Open Access)
Meanwhile, in the life of Johannes Vermeer
The whole life1653–1675
Patrons: van Ruijven and van Buyten
Pieter van Ruijven and his wife Maria de Knuijt were Vermeer's patrons for the better part of his career: van Ruijven bought much of his output, which kept Vermeer afloat financially but reduced the chances of his fame spreading beyond Delft. The baker Hendrick van Buyten held a couple of his paintings as collateral.
1653–1675 · Workplace
Delft
1663
A visit from Balthasar de Monconys
In 1663 the diplomat Balthasar de Monconys came to see Vermeer's work, but Vermeer had no paintings to show him. Monconys and the two French clergymen with him were sent to the baker Hendrick van Buyten, who held a couple of the artist's paintings as collateral.
