A Lady Writing a Letter

The Lady is seen gently turning her head as she is interrupted writing a letter. She wears twelve pearls (ten in the necklace and two in the earrings). Many of the objects seen in this painting - such as the woman's coat, the cloth on the table, and the string of pearls - also appear in other Vermeer works. This has led to speculation that he or his family members owned the objects and even that the subjects of the paintings were his relatives. It has often been suggested that in his paintings Vermeer sought to grant his models that which he could not endow on his wife and family; calm and affluence.