A Maid Asleep

This picture is probably the earliest in which the Delft painter treats his favorite theme of a young woman occasionally with a male companion, in a domestic interior. An overdressed maid has dozed off after entertaining a visitor.  Two glasses, a pitcher, and a jug may be seen in the jumbled still life on the table. The painting above her depicts Cupid unmasked, an oblique explanation of her dreamy smile. Radiographs show that Vermeer originally painted a man in the background and a dog to the lower right. According to some art historians, the presence of the dog would have alluded to the sort of impromptu relationships canine suitors strike up on the street. The man and the dog were replaced with a mirror on a far wall, suggesting how the experience of the senses quickly passes.  Finally a chair left at an angle with a pillow on it possibly signifies indolence with a hint of recent company.

The idea that she was recently together with someone is reinforced by the wine pitcher, the glass on its side and the possible presence of a knife and fork on the table. The Chinese bowl with fruit is a symbol of temptation and for Vermeer, a contemporary familiar with the symbolism of Dutch art of the time, the knife and jug lying open-mouthed under a gauzy material would have brought to mind more than social intercourse. Look how perfectly Vermeer painted the tapestry on the table!