This work was painted by Vermeer shortly before his death. Some critics consider that she is too accomplished, too stiff and affected to be compared with the brilliance of the Woman in Blue. On the contrary, in the vertical perfection, in the interplay of the Greek columns of the skirt's drape, in this interior's absolute geometrical character, we have a whole made up of emptiness, of silence, which is what Vermeer was seeking.

Skill and poetry at the peak of his art.

A LADY STANDING AT A VIRGINAL - c. 1670-1673
51.7 x 45.2 cm. - National Gallery, London

A LADY SEATED AT A VIRGINAL - c. 1670-1675
51.5 x 45.5 cm. - The National Gallery, London