|
''Woman Reading a Letter'' is an oil painting by Gabriël Metsu made in the mid-1660s, shortly before Metsu's death. During his lifetime, under the Golden Age of Dutch painting Metsu was a renowned painter, much better known than Vermeer.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Gabriel Metsu the Dutch master you dont know )〕 It is assumed to be a pair with ''Man Writing a Letter''. The pair of paintings are regarded as some of Metsu's best-known works; Metsu got the idea of a pair of themed paintings from Gerard ter Borch, who had painted a similar pair. It has been in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin since 1987. ==Description== A woman is reading a letter, seated by a window with a blue curtain. She is dressed elegantly in a yellow jacket with an expensive collar of ermine, and a skirt of peach-colored silk; there is gold trim on both the skirt and the elegant shoe she has kicked off.〔Susan Stamberg, ("Gabriel Metsu: The Dutch Master You Don't Know" ), ''Morning Edition'', NPR, May 18, 2011.〕 The red and blue embroidery pillow on her lap and the sewing basket next to her show that she put her needlework aside to read the letter. Beside her, a maid in dark clothing is drawing aside a curtain in front of a painting of a naval scene in an ebony frame. Visual clues would have made it immediately apparent to Metsu's contemporaries that the letter is a love letter. The little spaniel symbolizes fidelity and loyalty, the Cupid's arrows on the bucket and the maid's old shoes symbolize love and hope for a safe return.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Superstitions and Symbolism of Shoes )〕 The painting, showing a stormy sea, could refer to a tumultuous relationship〔 or indicate that the loved one is on the sea. A final, striking detail is found in the letter the maid is holding: it is addressed to the painter.〔Peter C. Sutton, Lisa Vergara, Ann Jensen Adams, (''Love Letters: Dutch Genre Paintings in the Age of Vermeer'' ), London: Frances Lincoln Limited, 2003, pp. 132–33.〕〔Sara Donaldson, ''National Gallery of Ireland, Companion Guide'', London, 2009. p. 27〕 ''Woman Reading a Letter'' is a companion piece to ''Man Writing a Letter'', in which the young man is writing the letter. Records indicate the paintings have always been owned as a pair. Metsu likely got the idea for a pair of themed paintings from Gerard ter Borch, who had painted a similar pair, ''Man Writing a Letter'' and ''A Woman Sealing a Letter'',〔 but the influence of Johannes Vermeer is also unmistakable in the paintings themselves.〔〔Adriaan E. Waiboer, ''Gabriel Metsu (1629–1667): Life and Work'', PhD dissertation, New York University, School of Fine Arts, 2007: ProQuest, (pp. 225–30 ).〕〔("Curator in the spotlight: Adriaan E. Waiboer, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin" ), Codart, retrieved September 12, 2014.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Woman Reading a Letter」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|