Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter who lived from 1632 to 1675. He was known for painting scenes of national middle-class life. He was known for his artwork, but was not known for painting many paintings during his life. Before going into detail about JohannesVermeer's Love Letter, I will first describe what I see right away. The painting takes place in two small rooms with a curtain that rises to distinguish the two rooms. The curtain symbolizes to me intimacy and the way the painter wants us to feel like we are watching someone's life. The floors are titled with a black and white checkerboard look which helps to give depth to the image. There are two women, one sitting on a chair, holding a lute (which looks like a guitar) in her lap in one hand and the other holding what looks like a letter. She wears a yellow skirt with a matching yellow and white top. Her hair is also covered in a yellow covering of the same color. Her facial expression seems confused as she looks at another woman who I assume is her maid or servant standing over her. The Servant wears a blue skirt with a brown and white top. Her hair is also covered with a white scarf. She stands with her hand on her hip, with a smile on her face. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original Essay To me, the servant looks like she knows something and she is satisfied with what she knows. There are also two paintings on the wall that I noticed. One of the paintings depicts a sailboat on a sunny day with white clouds and the other is a forest with a person standing in the distance. What I also noticed that was interesting was a broom, slippers, laundry basket, etc. all lying sporadically on the floor. To me, it seems like a way to connect with viewers. It symbolizes daily lifestyles with daily activities taking place. Light is an important element in this painting, the back of the painting is where my eyes go first because there is the most light there. The shaded door helps the drapery distinguish the two rooms. The light comes from the left and goes towards the servant then towards the woman. You can really see the flow of the light and how it moves. There is so much meaning in this painting that you don't see it at first glance. I love how I had to observe and dissect this work of art to really get to the bottom of what's going on. How to tell if the artwork belongs to the period/style it comes from. The era of Johannes' love letter was the Baroque art of the Dutch Republic. There are many reasons why I can say that the artwork is from this period. It has movement, emotional intensity, reality, light effects, diagonals, dynamism and energy. Baroque art is the emotional intensity that the love letter definitely possesses. The intensity of the letter in the woman's hand and what the letter symbolizes even makes us interested in what the letter says. Another way to tell is through diagonals, we see it in the way light moves. The light in the love letter is diagonal throughout the painting. Another way to put it is that the Baroque paintings of the Dutch Republic were real and not idealized. In the love letter we see real actions. No matter how old the painting is, I always feel like it could be receiving a love letter and I feel the emotion of what this woman is feeling. Another way to say it.