Focus on Woman Reading a Letter (Metsu) and explain the abstract.
Woman Reading a Letter is an oil painting by Dutch artist Gabriël Metsu, created c. 1665–1667, shortly before his death. During his lifetime, under the Golden Age of Dutch painting Metsu was a renowned painter, much better known than Vermeer. It is assumed to be a pair with Man Writing a Letter.
The pair of paintings are regarded as some of Metsu's best-known works; Metsu got the idea of a pair of themed paintings from Gerard ter Borch, who had painted a similar pair. It has been in the collection of the National Gallery of Ireland, in Dublin, since 1987.
Gerard ter Borch Man Writing a Letter Vermeer oil painting Dublin National Gallery of Ireland Gabriël Metsu