Johannes Vermeer was a master of Baroque painting. (1632-1675) In his early 20s, he was influenced by Rembrandt’s pupils, Carel Fabritius and Caravaggio. (The procuress: 1656) However, from the late 20s onwards, the mastery of realism and the light pouring through the windows by the camera obscura became characteristic. (The Milkmaid: 1657).
Six of Vermeer’s 37 surviving works deal with the theme of ‘letters’. Genre paintings on the theme of letters (letter paintings) cover a wide range of subjects: the writer, the recipient, the reader, the person who is pleased or saddened by the content of the letter, etc. The two main factors behind the depiction of such works were the high literacy rate that allowed people to enjoy exchanging letters and the development of the postal system that made this possible. Letters were still a written form of publication in the 16th century, but in the 17th century, when the postal system was established, and the general public began to exchange letters, they changed into a medium for sending and receiving private information. The fact that the Netherlands at that time had advanced primary education and a higher literacy rate than neighbouring countries was probably another reason why Vermeer painted so many letter paintings. Against the backdrop of this trend, painters began to paint on the theme of letters from around the 30s of the 17th century as well, and many works dealing with letters were produced, creating the genre of ‘letter painting’ within genre painting.
Incidentally, it is said that people at the time were most interested in love letters. At any age, the desire to think of others and convey one’s feelings have not changed. Today, messages can be sent quickly via the internet. That is why time-consuming letters still appeal to people.