Seated Woman with a Letter

Gallery 364, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Main Building

Seated Woman with a Letter

1633

Dirck Hals (Dutch (active Haarlem and Leiden), 1591–1656)

As literacy rates soared in seventeenth-century Holland, letter-writing became a popular mode of long-distance communication, especially between lovers and married couples. Far-flung Dutch trading interests that frequently sent merchants and sailors abroad also increased the need to connect with loved ones at home. Here, the woman’s beaming expression suggests that she is pleased to receive the news contained in the letter she dangles from her hand.

Gallery 364, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Object Details

Title:

Seated Woman with a Letter

Date:

1633

Artist:

Dirck Hals (Dutch (active Haarlem and Leiden), 1591–1656)

Medium:

Oil on panel

Dimensions:

13 5/16 x 11 1/4 inches (33.8 x 28.6 cm)

Classification:

Paintings

Credit Line:

John G. Johnson Collection, 1917

Accession Number:

Cat. 434

Geography:

Made in Netherlands, Europe

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Gallery 364, European Art 1500-1850, third floor

Main Building

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