The Needlewoman

Diego Velázquez

c. 1640/1650 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

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

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About this work

Artist: Diego Velázquez (1599–1660)
Year: c. 1640/1650
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 74 × 60 cm
Collection: National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Movement: Baroque

A young woman bends over her sewing, her face modelled in soft light and shadow and her hands no more than rapid strokes, the canvas left unfinished. Velázquez painted it some time between 1640 and 1650 in the years when he was chiefly occupied with portraits of Philip IV and the royal family, and the National Gallery of Art reads it as one of the subjects he took up for himself in his spare hours. The sitter is unidentified; the resemblance to his Lady with a Fan has led some to propose his daughter Francisca. The picture was in his rooms when he died in 1660, listed in the inventory as another head of a woman doing needlework. Andrew W. Mellon bought it in 1927 and it came to the National Gallery of Art in Washington with his collection in 1937.

This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.

Details & materials

• Exhibition poster — original, drawn in-house • Heavyweight matte fine-art paper, giclée printed at 300 DPI • Sizes: 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in; 12×18 and 16×24 and 24×36 also available framed in black or natural wood • Made to order; colours may vary slightly from screen

Shipping & returns

Produced in 2–4 business days, then shipped from the facility nearest you. Delivery is typically 3–6 business days (US/UK/EU) and 5–12 worldwide. 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 exhibition-poster edition sets the complete image above typography designed in-house.

Is The Needlewoman in the public domain?

Yes. Diego Velázquez (1599–1660) 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 National Gallery of Art.

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; the two larger sizes are also offered framed. Colours are matched to the scan, not brightened.

When was The Needlewoman painted, and in what medium?

The Needlewoman dates from c. 1640/1650 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 74 × 60 cm.

What size works above a sofa or bed?

For a standard three-seat sofa or a queen bed, 24×36 inches reads as a single statement piece; 16×24 suits a narrower wall or a pairing. The print's proportions follow the original, so a landscape-format painting is wider than it is tall.

About this design

A museum-exhibition poster of Diego Velázquez's The Needlewoman — The Needlewoman — a young woman absorbed in her sewing, her face and hands softly blurred in the half-light — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. The Spanish Golden Age, styled as a blockbuster exhibition print. A gallery-style exhibition poster: a celebrated public-domain artwork shown whole and uncropped beneath original exhibition typography set in-house — printed to order on heavyweight matte fine-art paper. Three sizes (12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in); the 16×24 and 24×36 are also offered framed. Part of the Madten Exhibition Posters Collection. — — — Printed to order and shipped by our production partner, Gelato.

Buy with confidence

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 ~4–8 business days.

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