There's a great debate
about whether or not
she's writing a love letter
Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter, with her Maid
Though there's no jug of wine on the table
no viol bow on the floor
no Cupid, eye trained, elbow strained
shooting arrows from the wall
Just the maid, centre stage,
apparently on the look out
though not looking too put out
And, to the side,the capped lady of the house
tilting her quill-
red seal, stick of wax
and crumpled sheaves of paper
on the checkered tiled floor
And there's the maid's folded arms
drawing the eye towards, rather than away from,
her swollen belly
or is it a whale-boned stomacher
so popular at the time?
And there's the Book of Exodus on the panel behind
Pharaoh's daughter finding Moses in the basket
saving him from certain doom
his real mother in situ
ready to step in as wet nurse
All in all a Dutch domestic interior
gravid with unease
light pouring from a Delft sky
over a canvas awash with female collusion-
not giving away a damn thing...
Copyright 2023 Cathy Leonard All rights reserved
http://www.essentialvermeer.com/maps/delft/delft_in_vermeer's_time.html
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