A Young Woman seated at a Virginal

A hanging curtain has been drawn aside to reveal the woman at the keyboard. She turns towards us, while a stringed instrument in the foreground suggests that music might be shared. The window behind her appears dark rather than full of daylight. Johannes Vermeer, the Dutch painter, made this scene around 1670–72. Light comes from in front of the picture, catching the musician’s eyes and the polished curves of the instrument. It creates a different mood from his bright, window-lit interiors. The large painting on the wall is a version of Dirck van Baburen’s The Procuress, showing an encounter involving paid sex. Its presence gives the musical invitation a potentially erotic meaning, although it does not settle the identity or intentions of the keyboard player. Vermeer often left such relationships uncertain. Compare the open instrument in front with the woman’s turned face and the picture behind her. A calm room can contain several possible kinds of encounter without telling us which is about to happen.