Curator Robert Fucci Unpacks the Narrative Intrigue of ‘Vermeer’s Love Letters’
Dan Duray | Observer | 21st June 2025
To celebrate its renovation New York’s Frick is showing three Vermeers, each a genre scene that focus on a favourite theme, the love letter. Dutch society in Vermeer’s day was not always willing to let women choose their partners. The love letter, often transmitted by one’s maid, was one way to steer events in a desired direction. So, in these paintings, there is dramatic tension – will love win out? Says one critic “three staggeringly beautiful works”. A backgrounder is here.