Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid

Johannes Vermeer

c. 1670–1671 · Oil on canvas · National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

Size2:3 ratio

Frame

$59Unframed print · made to order

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Complete the setHangs well with these two

This print

Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid

Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window

The Love Letter

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: Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)
Year: c. 1670–1671
Medium: Oil on canvas
Original size: 71.1 × 58.4 cm
Collection: National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Movement: Dutch Golden Age

A seated woman writes at a table in the light of a window while her maid stands behind her with folded arms, gazing out as she waits to carry the letter. On the floor lie a red seal, a stick of sealing wax and a crumpled paper, as if an earlier attempt had been thrown down in agitation. Vermeer painted it around 1670 to 1671, and it is his most ambitious treatment of letter-writing, the first of his pictures where the interest is spread across two figures rather than held in the centre. He never sold it; after his death his widow handed it to the Delft baker Hendrick van Buyten against a bread debt. It later belonged to the Beit family at Russborough House, where it was stolen by Rose Dugdale's gang in 1974 and by Martin Cahill's in 1986, recovered both times, and given to the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, where it is NGI.4535.

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 Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid 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 National Gallery of Ireland.

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 Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid painted, and in what medium?

Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid dates from c. 1670–1671 and was made in oil on canvas; the original measures 71.1 × 58.4 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 Johannes Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid — a lady writing intently at a table while her maid gazes out of the window, a crumpled letter on the tiled floor — shown whole and uncropped beneath gallery typography. Light and Silence: The Dutch Interior, 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.

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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 ~4–8 business days.

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