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A Girl Asleep

Johannes Vermeer, 1657

A Girl Asleep is a painting by Johannes Vermeer dated 1657, showing a young woman resting at a table in a quiet Dutch interior. It belongs to the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where visitors can look for its rumpled carpet, soft light and the view through an open door.

Where to see it

A Girl Asleep is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which is also its listed location. Displays and gallery arrangements can change, so check the Metropolitan Museum of Art's official website for the painting's current display status before you plan your visit.

What to look for in person

The resting woman

Begin with the young woman seated behind the table, her head propped on one hand and her eyes closed. Vermeer sets her slightly off centre, framed by the table in front of her and the doorway beside her. Notice how light falls gently on her face while much of her dress sinks into shadow, drawing your eye to her lowered head. The painting does not spell out a story about her; instead it invites you to slow down and study her stillness.

The carpet and the table

In the foreground, a heavy patterned carpet is pushed into folds across the tabletop. Look at how Vermeer builds up its ridges and how objects sit among them, including a white jug, a glass and a dish of fruit. These details form a barrier between you and the woman, so you seem to come upon her from across the room. Compare the rich, uneven textures here with the calmer handling of the walls and the doorway behind.

The view through the door

On the right, a half-open door leads into a further room, where a table and a mirror catch the light. Looking from one space into another is a device you will often find in Dutch interiors of this period. Technical examinations have shown that Vermeer first painted more in this area, including a man in the doorway and a dog, which he later painted out. With that in mind, notice how empty and quiet the back room now feels.

About the painting

Johannes Vermeer painted A Girl Asleep in 1657, according to the date recorded for the work. The canvas measures 87.6 cm in height and 76.5 cm in width, a moderate size that lets you take in the whole room at once from a short distance and then step closer to examine details. It is generally regarded as one of Vermeer's early interior scenes, made before the smaller, more tightly composed pictures for which he is now best known. In front of the painting, it helps to follow the layers of space from front to back. First comes the table with its thick carpet and still-life objects, then the seated woman, and finally the open door with its glimpse of another room. Vermeer uses these layers to create a sense of depth and to keep the viewer at a slight distance. On the wall in the upper left, part of a framed painting is visible; only a fragment is shown, so look carefully at what can and cannot be made out. The changes revealed by technical study, in which figures in the doorway were removed, show Vermeer simplifying the scene as he worked. The result is a picture with very little action, where light, texture and arrangement carry most of the interest. Viewers and scholars have read the woman's pose in different ways, and the painting leaves room for that uncertainty. Take time to notice how the warm colours of the foreground contrast with the cooler light beyond the door.

Key facts

More by Johannes Vermeer

• The Concert
• The Girl with the Wine Glass
• The Lacemaker — Louvre Museum
• Girl Interrupted at her Music — The Frick Collection
• Woman with a Pearl Necklace — Gemäldegalerie Berlin
• Woman in Blue Reading a Letter — Rijksmuseum
• The Milkmaid — Rijksmuseum
• Girl with a Pearl Earring — Mauritshuis
• A Young Woman seated at a Virginal — National Gallery
• The Music Lesson
• A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal — National Gallery
• Diana and her Nymphs — Mauritshuis

Sources

• Wikidata Q684935
• www.metmuseum.org
• engage.metmuseum.org