The Milkmaid

Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), oil on canvas, c. 1660

A maidservant pours milk, entirely absorbed in her work. Except for the stream of milk, everything else is still. Vermeer took this simple everyday activity and made it the subject of an impressive painting – the woman stands like a statue in the brightly lit room. Vermeer also had an eye for how light by means of hundreds of colourful dots plays over the surface of objects.

Artwork typepainting
Object numberSK-A-2344
Dimensionsheight 45.5 cm x width 41 cm

Stories

The Milkmaid

1:20 min. - The milk seems to be streaming from the pitcher. How did Vermeer do this?

A sexual or lesbian symbol

The Milkmaid

Extraordinary ordinary

2:17 min. - Everyday chores of the 17th century

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more by Johannes Vermeer

View of Houses in Delft, Known as ‘The Little Street’

Johannes Vermeer, c. 1658

Woman Reading a Letter

Johannes Vermeer, c. 1663

The Love Letter

Johannes Vermeer, c. 1669 - c. 1670

Identification

Former title
- De melkmeid
- De keukenmeid
Object type
Object number
SK-A-2344
Description
A maidservant pours milk, entirely absorbed in her work. Except for the stream of milk, everything else is still. Vermeer took this simple everyday activity and made it the subject of an impressive painting – the woman stands like a statue in the brightly lit room. Vermeer also had an eye for how light by means of hundreds of colourful dots plays over the surface of objects.
Catalogue reference
The New York Times, 13 sept. 2009, p. 77 [paginagrote advertentie van The Metropolitan Museum of Art].

Creation

Creation
painter: Johannes Vermeer
Dating
c. 1660
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Material and technique

Material
Dimensions
height 45.5 cm x width 41 cm

This work is about

Subject

Acquisition and rights

Credit line
Purchased with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt
Acquisition
purchase 1908
Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
? Pieter Claesz van Ruijven (1624-1674) and Maria Simonsdr de Knuijt (1623-1681), Delft; ? their daughter, Magdalena van Ruijven (1655-1682), Delft; ? her widower, Jacob Dissius (1653-1695), Delft;{Montias 1989, pp. 246-262, 359, doc. 417.} his sale, Amsterdam, 16 May 1696, no. 2, fl. 175, to Isaac Rooleeuw (1663-1701), Amsterdam;{Hoet and Terwesten 1752-1770, vol. 1 (1752), p. 34; Montias 1989, p. 363, doc. 439; Grijzenhout 2010, p. 66.} his sale, Amsterdam, 20 April 1701, no. 7, fl. 320;{Hoet and Terwesten 1752-1770, vol. 1 (1752), p. 62.} …; sale Jacob van Hoek (1670-1718), Amsterdam, 12 April 1719, no. 20, fl. 126;{Ibid., p. 221.} …; collection Pieter Leendert de Neufville (1707-1759), Amsterdam, after 1752;{Missing in the collection description of 1752, see Hoet and Terwesten 1752-1770, vol. 2 (1752), pp. 513-516.} his son, Leendert Pieter de Neufville (1729-1774?), Amsterdam; sale De Neufville, Amsterdam (J.M. Cok), 19 June 1765, no. 65, fl. 560, to the dealer Yver;{Copy RKD.} …; sale Jean Dulong (?-?), Amsterdam (H. de Winter and J. Yver), 18 April 1768, no. 10, fl. 925, to Van Diemen;{Copy RKD.} …; collection Jan Jacob de Bruyn (1720-1792), Amsterdam;{Reynolds 1996, p. 106.} his sale, Amsterdam (P. van der Schley et al.), 12 September 1798, no. 32, fl. 1,550, to the dealer J.A. Spaan;{Copy RKD.} …; sale Hendrik Muilman (1743-1812), Amsterdam (P. van der Schley et al.), 12 April 1813 _sqq._, no. 96, fl. 2,125, to the dealer J. de Vries for Lucretia Johanna van Winter (1785-1845), Amsterdam;{Copy RKD.} her widower, Jonkheer Hendrik Six (1790-1847), Lord of Hillegom, Amsterdam; their son, Jonkheer Pieter Hendrik Six (1827-1905), Lord of Vromade, Amsterdam;{Archive Six family, inv.no. CS53207-002. 0014.} from whose heirs, fl. 550,000, with 38 other paintings, with the support of the Vereniging Rembrandt, to the museum, 1908

Documentation

- The New York Times, 13 sept. 2009, p. 77 [paginagrote advertentie van The Metropolitan Museum of Art].
- Z.Z. Filipczak, 'Vermeer, elusiveness, and visual theory', Simiolus 32 (2006), nr. 4, p. 263, afb. 2.
- Pieter Roelofs, 'Nu of nooit : na 300 jaar weer samen', Oog 3 (2009) nr. 1, p. 80-81.
- Bikker, Jonathan, 'The hidden collection of the spectacularly bankrupt banker Leendert Pieter de Neufville', Simiolus 36 (2012), nr. 3/4, p. 196, afb. 21.
- Gijsbert van der Wal, 'Schilderen in druppeltjes', Kunstschrift (2014) nr. 3, p. 13, afb. 11.
- P. Hecht, 'Daniël Franken : genereus en bescheiden', Bulletin van de Vereniging Rembrandt 24 (2014), afb. p. 10.
- Karen Rosenberg, 'A humble domestic crosses the sea/ocean', The New York Times, 11 sept. 2009, p. 23, 29.
- C. van der Bas, 'The Muilman Collection: the progressive taste of an eighteenth-century banking family', Simiolus 32, (2006), nr. 2/3, p. 156