Johannes Vermeer
Girl with a Red Hat
From $100
This painting is soft blue against a pale, light-filled wall, and a dull copy turns the blue grey. Our Vermeer Woman in Blue Reading a Letter print was graded so the jacket keeps its deep blue, the wall keeps its quiet light and the map stays legible.
Canvas, framed or paper
Stretched canvas. Printed on cotton canvas and stretched taut over a frame. The edges are mirror-wrapped, so the picture continues around the sides and none of it is lost to the fold.
Framed canvas. The same canvas, set in a black, white, natural wood or dark wood frame 0.83 in deep. The frame gives the work a finished edge and a little more presence on the wall.
Framed print. Printed on fine art matte paper and framed in solid pine, behind shatterproof plexiglass, in black, white, natural wood or dark wood. It arrives ready to hang. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame.
Fine art print. Printed on 310gsm fine art matte paper, for framing your own way. It travels rolled and protected. From 18x24 inch.
Sizes
16x20 inch, 24x30 inch. Framed sizes are measured on the outside of the frame, so the visible painting is a little smaller.
On your wall
Its upright shape suits a bedroom, a study or a quiet hallway. The blues and pale golds look calm with white, navy and oak, and a black or natural frame suits it.
About the painting
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter by Johannes Vermeer
Delft, about 1663
Johannes Vermeer painted one or two people in a quiet room, lit by a window on the left, again and again. Here a woman in a blue jacket stands absorbed in a letter. We can’t see the window, only its light.
A map of Holland
Behind her hangs a map of Holland and West Friesland, perhaps a sign that the letter comes from someone far away. A box of pearls lies on the table. She may be pregnant, or it may be the loose fashion of the day. It is the only Vermeer room with no corner, floor or ceiling in sight.
The first Vermeer
The painting has belonged to the City of Amsterdam since 1854, and it was the first Vermeer the Rijksmuseum ever showed.
Read the story
We never find out what this letter says.
Around 1663, Johannes Vermeer paints a woman alone, in a quiet room in Delft, absorbed in a letter.
She wears a soft blue jacket. The window is out of sight, but its light falls across her and the pale wall.
Behind her hangs a big map of Holland. Perhaps the letter comes from someone far away, a husband travelling.
On the table lies a little box of pearls.
She might be pregnant, or it might just be the loose fashion of the day. Painters almost never showed pregnancy then.
It's the only one of his rooms where you can't see a corner, the floor or the ceiling. Everything is wall, light and woman.
Vermeer painted the same map again, in colour, in another picture: Officer and Laughing Girl.
In 1854 the painting was left to the City of Amsterdam. When the Rijksmuseum opened in 1885, it was the first Vermeer the museum showed.
Look at the map, and then at her hands holding the letter.
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter. Johannes Vermeer, about 1663.
How each piece is brought to life
Faithful to the original, and made to be felt on your wall.
Graded against the original
We compare every work with the original as we grade it, keeping the artist’s colours true while bringing back their depth and glow. Every mark stays the artist’s own.
Printed for you
Printed to order on cotton canvas or fine art paper, then framed if you chose a frame, in 1 to 3 business days.
On your wall
It arrives 5 to 12 business days later, tracked and free anywhere in the US. Framed pieces come ready to hang.
Questions
Is this the original painting?
No. The original hangs in a museum. What you receive is a fine art reproduction, remastered from the original and printed for you, with every mark where the artist left it.
Will the colour look flat?
This is where most reproductions disappoint, and it is where we spend the most time. Each work is graded side by side with the original: faithful to the artist’s colours, with the depth and warmth brought back, so it moves you on the wall the way it was meant to. Canvas reads a touch softer than a backlit screen, and every screen shows colour a little differently.
Will the edges be cropped?
Each size is a standard frame size, so we fit the painting by trimming a little from its edges. We never stretch or squash it, and we check every size by eye so no face, figure or signature is cut. On canvas the edges are mirror-wrapped, which keeps the whole picture on the front.
Which size is right for my wall?
Aim for about two-thirds the width of the furniture beneath it. Over a sofa or a sideboard, one of the two largest sizes will hold the wall. The size guide lists every size in inches and centimetres, with the kind of wall each one suits.
How long does it take?
Your piece is printed in 1–3 business days, then spends 5–12 business days in transit, tracked all the way. Delivery is free anywhere in the US. We are unable to deliver to PO boxes.
What if it arrives damaged?
Send us a photograph and we will remake it and send it again. There is nothing to return.
Can I return it?
Yes, within 30 days of delivery. Our returns policy has the details.
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Printed to order
Graded against the original, then printed for you on cotton canvas or fine art paper in 1–3 business days.
The whole painting
Every mark is the artist’s own, and canvas edges are mirror-wrapped so the whole picture stays on the front.
Free US shipping
On every order, tracked, 5–12 business days in transit.
30-day returns
Returns and exchanges within 30 days of delivery.
