Girl with a Flute

The Girl With a Flute is a transitional painting for the artist as he incorporates a new style into his work.

Johannes Vermeer is a prominent renaissance artist depicting the classic lifestyle of the society at the time.

The painting was executed between 1665-1670 near the end of the artist's career due to Vermeer's unexpected death.

The artwork showcases a young girl seated starring directly at the viewer as she holds a flute within her left hand. The muse is dressed in a teal blue top, accentuated through soft white ruffles along the sleeves and near the neckline of the outfit.

The exquisite detail of Vermeer is manifested through the gentle artistry on the teal blue fabric in relation to his brush stroke and design. The artist had gently painting small motions on the blue fabric to showcase the silk texture of it.

The ruffles at the sleeves and upper section of the painting are also strategic components that add to the flare of the outfit of the woman. Vermeer was well known for showcasing elaborate clothing throughout his art to add to the work, as evident to the classic yellow dress in A Lady Writing, and the luxurious dress in A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal.

The interesting aspect to note within the painting is the triangular hat on the woman's head. The awkwardly shaped hat was not a popular accessory at the time and had to have been obtained from central Asia.

The hat is coloured in a dark colour within thin linear white and blue stripes in an array of sizes. The woman's hat lightly covers her face as her eyes are shaded from the light source above. Her rosy cheeks are showcased, alongside a prominent nose. The woman's lips are depicted in a bright red colour catching a glimpse of her teeth.

The woman within the painting is the same muse within Vermeer's other art piece, Girl With a Red Hat. The woman within the painting depicts the same model dressed in the classic style of the time accompanied by a bright red top hat. It remains unknown who in fact the model is, yet had an altered facial structure than the other woman depicted.

Vermeer showcased the model during the same time that his style of art began to change. The woman within the artwork is portrayed in a more modern style, turning away from the realist renaissance portrayal favoured at the time to an Art Nouveau era that became popular 200 years after Vermeer's death. An artist with a similar style to the artistry of Vermeer within Girl With a Flute is artist Gustav Klimt.

The flute that the woman holds within the painting adds a romantic element to the artwork, as music was strongly associated to love at the time. The flute offers a calm notion of peace as the melody eluded from the instrument emits a gentle tune. The woman within he artwork seems to be posing with the instrument instead of the Vermeer catching a glimpse of her life.