The Milkmaid

Johannes Vermeer

c. 1657–1658 · Oil on canvas · Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

📦 Free shipping on every order, arriving in 4–9 business days with production included. Express ($14.90) at checkout arrives in 4–6 business days.

Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

The Milkmaid

Girl with a Pearl Earring

The Astronomer

3 × $59 at 16 × 24 in, unframed = $177 → $159.30 as a set · 10% included · free shipping

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Giclée-printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper

Free shipping worldwide · arrives in 4–9 business days

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free

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About this work

Artist: Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)
Year: c. 1657–1658
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 45.5 × 41 cm
Collection: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Movement: Dutch Golden Age

A kitchen maid pours milk from a jug into a bowl beside a window, with bread on the table and a foot-warmer on the floor behind her. Vermeer painted it in Delft in the late 1650s, early in his career, and it is one of only around thirty-five surviving works by him. The subject is humble but the handling is not: the bread crust is built from thick dots of paint that catch the light, the wall is a carefully modulated field of cool white, and the maid's yellow bodice and blue apron are rendered in expensive pigments. The composition is tightly cropped so the figure fills the small canvas and the act of pouring becomes the whole event. The painting has been in the Rijksmuseum since 1908, when it was acquired from the Six family collection.

This print reproduces the whole work, uncropped, from a high-resolution scan of the original. The original is in the public domain.

Where it works

Cool white wall, yellow bodice and blue apron make this a natural fit for a kitchen or dining room, close to where food is handled. A black frame on a warm neutral wall holds the quiet light; 16×24 keeps the small canvas honest.

Style, size & framing detail

Style: Dutch Golden Age painting
Era: 17th century (c. 1657–1658)
Orientation: Portrait
Mood: classic
Rooms: kitchen, dining room, living room
Good gift for: housewarming, art lovers

Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.

Framing. The gallery ground is part of the print, so frame it without a mat — black suits the deep tones of this period; natural wood lightens it.

Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).

Details & materials

• Restored in-house from the original painting — cleaned and colour-trued at museum resolution • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; every size also available framed • Framed option: wood frame in black or natural wood, 12 mm wide and 22 mm deep, with a plexiglass front and no mat; the print is mounted inside and the frame's outside measures the listed size • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Printed after you order at the facility nearest you, then shipped. Standard delivery is free and takes 4–9 business days from order to door in the US, UK and EU (up to 10 elsewhere); Express takes 4–6 business days. Because each print is made to order we don't take change-of-mind returns, but if it arrives damaged or flawed we'll reprint or refund it — no return needed. Full policy →

Is this the whole painting, or a crop?

The whole work, uncropped. The image fills the print at the painting's own proportions; nothing is trimmed to fit a frame.

Is The Milkmaid in the public domain?

Yes. Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) died more than 70 years ago and the work was published before 1929, so the painting itself is public domain. This print is a reproduction made from a high-resolution scan of the original, which is held by Rijksmuseum.

What is it printed on?

Heavyweight matte fine-art paper with pigment inks, made to order in 12×18, 16×24 and 24×36 inches; every size is also offered framed in black or natural wood, with plexiglass and no mat. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Milkmaid painted, and in what medium?

The Milkmaid dates from c. 1657–1658 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 45.5 × 41 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

Across a three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 is the size that reads as one statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pair. For The Milkmaid we'd choose 16×24.

About this design

The Milkmaid (Johannes Vermeer) — The Milkmaid · Johannes Vermeer · c. 1660. This is a fine-art reproduction of a public-domain masterwork, shown whole and uncropped on a gallery ground, printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Every size is offered unframed or framed in black or natural wood. Part of the Madten Fine Art Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

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The Madten promise

Gallery-grade archival giclée. Rich pigment inks on heavyweight fine-art paper (or gallery-wrapped canvas) — built to last, not a poster-shop print.

Arrives perfect or we reprint it — free. Every piece is made to order; if it shows up damaged or flawed we remake it, no return needed.

Free worldwide shipping. Made & shipped from the facility nearest you — most orders arrive in 4–9 business days.

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