Profesores, Elvira Lindo. El país.

Tranquilos, no son muchos, solo unos cuantos miles de jóvenes recién licenciados, que se levantan cada día sin saber a dónde más pueden enviar su currículo, que los hay que hasta trabajan gratis con tal de inflar experiencia, que ya no saben qué más estudiar ni a qué país ir a ampliar sus conocimientos, que sienten rabia cada vez que tienen que pedirle dinero a sus padres para seguir formándose o simplemente para tomar una caña con los colegas y consolarse porque, pobrecitos, les ha tocado vivir en época de crisis. Y es que aunque están sobradamente preparados, no hay nada de lo suyo, de eso por lo que han estado soñando y luchando desde que os escribían cartas pidiéndoos una bicicleta como hice yo. Muchas gracias y espero que se dé bien la Navidad.

Queridos reyes magos. El país, edizio digitala. Azaroaren 29a.

It is now when I remember my stay in Leipzig. It is now when I go back in my mind and try to remember all those experiences that changed my life forever. So now, I’m going back almost a year to go through the four seasons; Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer. The pictures that I’ll be presenting here will be my guide and my source. Each picture represents a moment of my life which has now become a simple picture at first glance. But, whenever I look at these pictures carefully, a lot of memories come quickly to my mind. Moments that are recorded in my mind. Just a simple smile in a picture has its own story, as well as the landscapes that I will be showing.

Not only pictures will be my religion. The colors will also play an important role in this return. The colors were different in each of the seasons. It was wonderful to observe the marvelous landscape that was formed thanks to these warm and cold colors. Green, yellow, red, brown and white were the main protagonists of a year of my life in which I learnt, had fun and enjoy with the beauty of the German landscapes.

During last year, I had the opportunity to travel to different cities, such as Berlin, Nürnberg, Dresden or Stuttgart, but even though each city had its own magical characteristics, I really was charmed by my city, Leipzig. The colors, landscapes and the people were very diverse from what I had seen before. Definitely, Leipzig has a beautiful landscape which charms every single person that visits it. The first time I arrived to this city, I wasn’t aware of the treasures that were hiding inside of it. But after being there for a year, I realized that I was really falling in love with it. The natural environment of the city and I became one.

This will be the story of my year in a German city in which I felt in peace. A city in which nature was the most important element of my life. A single walk through its woods made me feel in peace with myself and with the world itself.

Autumn

Autumn arrived during the first two months that I was there. I could see how leaves were turning into those characteristic colors, such as yellow and red. Leaves started to fall down as the days passed. The weather was almost always cloudy, but when the sun came out I could notice how sunbeams were filtrating inside the leaves of the trees turning them into Autumnal colors. It was beautiful to observe how the green landscapes that were surrounding me were changing and evolving into the sweetest season of the year.

However, I didn’t only want to observe it from my window which was usually closed. I wanted to explore Leipzig, I wanted to go out and experience the Autumnal colors. Without thinking it twice, I put on my sneakers and went out. I cannot exactly remember how many hours did I walk down the streets which mainly adorned with lime trees. The street that I was living on was called Strasse des 18. Oktober. I started walking down the street. My street. And when I was coming to its end, I noticed that there was an awesome building in front of me. I brought my head up and looked at it for a moment. It was the most beautiful monument I had ever seen. The structure was incredible, but the landscape that was surrounding it in that moment was even better.

This picture was one of the first images that I had from Leipzig. The sky was of a bright blue color and the weather was extremely good. I stared at the trees and realized that Autumn had arrived at Leipzig. The contrast of colors was absolutely beautiful. The grass was still of a bright green color and when I stared at it, our Basque landscapes came to my mind. Indeed, our landscapes are very different from the German ones. For instance, the green of the grass tends to be brighter in Germany. This was the first comparison that I made. A Comparison between the color of the grasses. I wondered that the color of Basque grass was thicker and of a mint color. That color that transmits freshness to the air and the environment. The sensation that I felt when observing the Leipziger grass was that it was sweeter and that it fitted better with the colors of the Autumn. All the colors that can be observed in this picture were the sweetest. Even though people tends to think that Autumn is a sad season, I find it the most beautiful of the seasons.

The small lake was put there intentionally. I don’t know its function. I don’t even know why they chose that place to build it or even to locate that monument. But the only thing I know, is that whenever I was there, I felt in peace. The only sound that you could hear there was the sporadic splash of ducks and swans; the singing of birds and crickets. The water was not muddy. On the contrary, it was so clear and clean that it invited me to splash together with ducks and swans.

Apart from this, at the top of the monument splendid views could be observed. All the German landscape could be observed. Its beauty, its trees and their leaves, the colors of the Autumn, the colors of the wind and of the sky.

Leipzig was full of wooded areas. That was something that I will never forget. I was living in a city, but the most interesting thing was that I had everything in one city. On the one hand, I could enjoy the advantages that a city offers you and on the other hand, I also had the possibility of going for a walk and getting lost inside one of the hundred of woods that were grown in Leipzig. That is, I enjoyed the two sides of the city. When I needed to disconnect from my everyday life, I went to one of those woods that were located in my neighborhood. There, I felt so happy and in peace with my environment. I took millions of photos and I found that it was never enough. Pics were not enough to show to my family how beautiful these landscapes were. They were amazing pieces of nature. Millions of trees were growing there; lime trees, chestnut trees, poplars, ash trees, beech trees, oak trees…

Winter

Winter came quickly. It was the hardest Winter of my life. I started to notice that Winter was arriving due to the darkness that covered Leipzig in the early afternoon. At half past four everything was covered by a black cloak. I have to recognize that Winter was a sad season in Leipzig. Due to the early darkening people went home earlier and the Leipziger streets died very quickly. It was very sad to look through my window and notice that nobody was outside. It was normal. Whenever I went out to go to University, I got frozen and was desiring to return to my warm house as soon as possible.

Thus, it was as if hours became days. The long cold Winter didn’t want to leave Leipzig. Sometimes I could not go out because of the snow that covered everything in white. Woods were covered in beautiful bright white and it was marvelous to observe the snow flakes falling down on the streets.

Whenever I step on the snow, my feet seemed to freeze. But I enjoyed so much doing it. I felt as a little girl playing with snow and taking photos of our streets which were full of snow. In those moments in which I behaved like a little girl, I forgot about the cold.

I still remember the first day that I saw snow in Germany. My friends and I planned a trip to Berlin and woke up at six in the morning. When we went out snow flakes began to fall down. I felt happy about it, but my friends who came from South Spain were amazed. They had never seen snow before, and they were crazily happy taken photos as we were arriving at the train station. In Berlin everything was covered with snow. We decided to visit the city with one of those “free-walking tours” and even though it was great to listen to all the history that was hidden inside the streets of Berlin, we were very cold. The last straw was when we tried to eat the typical hot dog. In order to ate it, we needed to take our gloves off and thus, our fingers were frozen because of the minus five degrees! However, I strongly enjoyed observing the monuments covered in snow and the little bushes that were bravely bearing the cold.

The view that I contemplated, the place in which the Brandenburg Tor was standing, was unforgettable in every way. The sky was blue and it was amazing to observe how the snow was melting thanks to the sunbeams which were trying to warm ourselves up and give us a break.

Spring

Spring came also quickly. I noticed it in the weather. Sun started to shine and its sunbeams began to warm our skins up. After the hard Winter it was not easy for Spring to cover all the German fields with Spring-like colors.

I continued exploring new places and mainly new woodlands. I bought a bicycle and almost every week I tried to discover new places in which I could find a bit of peace and time to wonder about my deepest feelings. Thus, the bicycle became my best friend.

Flowers began to bloom and their special smell was covering the whole fields in which I tend to lie on. Daisies, buttercups and clovers.

The parks were also part of Spring. People started to go there after University and tend to make barbecues to enjoy the fresh air and the beautiful weather. I used to cycle around the wooded areas and enjoy the freshness that the shadow of trees provided. The environment was peaceful and nice. The best of Spring was to lie under the shadow of a tree with my friends and to have a picnic while enjoying the lovely weather.

The colors of the Spring were awesome. After the cold and cruel Winter passed, the Leipziger landscapes came to life gain. They were once again alive. It was beautiful to observe everything that nature was offering us and, above all, it was great to be so fortunate to enjoy each of the corner of these parks which were full of life, music and color.

Summer

Finally, Summer came. On the one hand, I was happy about the idea of returning home. On the other hand, I remembered all the good moments that I had passed during my stay in Leipzig. It was not fair. I fell in love with this city and I didn’t want to return. I loved the landscapes and the peace that I could feel when I was surrounded by them. Moreover, I had my bicycle which I didn’t want to leave behind. But Summer came, and I decided that there was no time to complain about the few more days that I was going to stay in that magic place. Therefore, I enjoyed the most I could and tried to capture with my camera the Summer’s arrival.

I continued with my routes through the German landscapes and discovered that bees started to suck from flowers. I have always been afraid of bees, but it was very nice to see them sucking the flower’s heart. For a moment, I realized how important the role of a bee is.

They are the ones in charge of spreading the seeds of the flowers, that is, of doing the pollination process. At that moment I understood that bees are an important insect in nature.

I also observed that everything was of a green color and that the weather was extremely hot. The sweet wind of the Summer was shaking the green fields and birds were merrily singing and flying in the wide sky. Everybody was happy. Summer had arrived at Leipzig and now it was time to swim in the numerous lakes that were hidden inside the woodlands and to enjoy the landscape and the different smells that the Summer offered us. I felt part of the nature, I felt that everything and everybody was in peace, I felt that I was spiritually connected to this land.

After Summer, my stay was over. But I felt satisfied because I had the opportunity to get to know well all those unknown places that were hidden in Leipzig. I explored all the corners of its nature and felt in peace with myself. I wish I could return there and smell and feel its landscape again.

]]> http://nazatxu.wordpress.com/2010/05/09/the-return-to-leipzig/feed/ 0 nazatxu IMG_1616 IMG_1645 IMG_2155 DSCF3569 IMG_2218 IMG_2187 http://nazatxu.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/this-letter-is-meant-for-you/ http://nazatxu.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/this-letter-is-meant-for-you/#comments Sat, 08 May 2010 16:27:05 +0000 nazatxu http://nazatxu.wordpress.com/?p=17 ]]> This is the story that I made up for my course ESP (English for Special Purposes). It is a story mainly based in the letter that the mistress receives.

I hope you enjoy this little piece of literature!

Naza

This letter is meant for you

Maybe you can ask yourself why have I chosen to explain everything to you, but I am doing it for you. For you to know, that there are so many things that you don’t know; so many aspects of my life and of your life that you should be aware of. This sensation is killing me softly and has already exploded inside my heart. I need to release myself, to go back to those times in which you were not even born. I know that after telling you this story, the story of your life indeed, you will understand why I’m prisoner of myself, why did I choose to make some decisions instead of others. You will realize that life can be cruel sometimes, and that sometimes our decisions are taken for some reason. Then, I apologize for having lasted so long until I decided that it was time to tell you the story of my life, and of course, of your life, sweetie. I know sometimes you will wonder why did I choose some directions instead of others; sometimes you will judge me positively, and sometimes negatively. But this is why I’m writing this letter to you tonight. I want you to look at life through your own eyes and to give you the freedom of knowing. Maybe, after reading it, you may feel disappointed, but I know, sweetheart, that finally you will understood my reasons to have written this letter and that probably if you were I, you will have chosen to do the same. But I would hesitate no more and I will let you know and try to explain where did you come from; why your life is the way nowadays is.

My dearest love, I remember the moment in which I first knew about you as if it were yesterday. There was I sitting at the table writing the fiftieth letter to my sister. Ten years have already passed since the day I left the town, but I still remember the last day, the day in which we say goodbye to each other and the day in which I left her behind. I don’t really know why she stopped writing to me. Actually, I cannot deceive myself. I have to say, that she never answered any of my letters. But, which was the reason why she didn’t do it? I have already written to her a thousand letters begging her to answer me. I needed to talk to her, to know about her and about our parents. Why was this so difficult? I only wanted to know if everything was fine at home, if she needed me to return, if she missed me as much as I missed her. But she didn’t answer. You cannot imagine how much I miss her.

I still remember those summer days in which we were running along the green landscape that was surrounding our little house. Everything was perfect. We were 9 years old when mum told us that we were going to move on to a little house which location was perfect. When we were young, we didn’t realize which was the reason why we moved to this little town. Before moving to the town, we were living in the city, in a bigger house which had marvelous gardens in which we spent hundred of hours pretending to be explorers and picking colored flowers up which every summer tended to grow incessantly. But, years later, when we were 12 years old, mum explained to us why did we move to the little town. She told us that our father was sick and that he was fired. Mum insisted on us that our father was the best blacksmith of the city, but that one day, he started to feel badly. The doctor came and told to our mother that our father was suffering from lung-cancer. Thus, he started getting worse. The days after he knew that he was extremely sick, it seemed that he got even worse. The first days he stopped eating, he didn’t have appetite. After that, he didn’t even want to go to work because he said that he felt very weak and wretch. The result of not going to work was that he was fired. Mum tried to explain to my father’s superior that he was sick and that he had a family to feed, but it was in vain. After he was fired, our life turned upside down. We were running out of money and we needed to sell our belongings in order to survive and to feed our family. After that, mum made a great effort and brought us to the little town; she told us that there, we will farm and had our own cows, hens and rabbits. This was what mum told us when we were 9 years old; that we were there to live a healthier life and eat food that was cultivated by our family. But the reality was different. Reality is always different. When we were 12 years old, mum told us the real story; at that point, we left behind our infancy and started to think about our real lives. The fairy tale in which we were living on before was over. When we were 14 years old, our father died. Mom was desolated, but as she is the strongest woman I have ever know, she fought for our family, she fought for us. After our father’s dead we were even more poor. We were not able to have an education because we were too poor to afford it. Thus, I traveled every day to the big city in order to find a job and get enough money to survive. You may wonder why my sister Helene didn’t come with me to the city. The reason was very simple. There were too many things to do at home that she had to stay there with our mother in order to help her. Mum was getting old, and there were many housework and farmwork that she couldn’t do it on her own. Besides, Helene, was the oldest daughter, and as if it were a curse, mum obliged her to stay always with her until the end of her life. This was the moment in which the strong ties between us broke down.

I was very angry with our mother. Helene and I were the happiest persons in the world before my father’s dead. We were as thick as thieves and our relationship was perfect. When we were child we played everyday together, pretending to be someone else and fabricating our own swings. We had a lot of fun together. Then, we grew up, and our childish like behavior turned into maturity. We became the best friends in the world; we were always confessing our inner-thoughts to each other and above all, we were always supporting and advising each other. We were our best friends. However, everything changed the day in which I first went to the city. I remember that I went to the city reluctantly. That morning, I was dressing Helene’s hair with some daisies that we picked up from our fields (she looked so pretty, she was like a princess) when our mum interrupted us. She told us that I had to go to the city; she told me that I was old and mature enough to start working in the city as a maid and to start contributing our family wealth. I felt confused. Her attitude was disappointing and rude. Her tone was authoritative and her eyes were full of anger, as if she was blaming me for everything that we had passed through. I burst into tears when she told me that I had to go alone and that my sister’s place would be always at home with her. This was even more painful for me. She made the decision of separating us, separate our souls, our lives, our thoughts. This was the last time that I saw Helene. I was so angry with our mother that before night I prepared a bag with some clothes, milk and bread and I left my home, and above all, my dear Helene. I left her. I left her there, with our mother. She was condemned to live a life that she didn’t choose. She was condemned without any reason. Why did mum choose me? At that moment, I wanted to be dead. My illusions faded away with Helene. I walked to the city drying my tears and blaming my mother for having ruined my life.

The following years I found a job as a maid in a wealthy family. The house was huge and the people who lived there treated me as if I were they daughter. My mistress was very nice to me. I still remember the day in which she took me from the cold streets. I was there, sitting on the floor and trying to protect me from the cold wind when she asked me what was my name. Michelle, I answered. She stared at me and I noticed sadness in his eyes. She asked me some personal questions about the reasons why I was there, sitting on the cold floor. After that, she took me home; she fed me and provided me with new clean clothes and offered me a job. She asked her other maid called Mariah to instruct me. My mistress was my salvation. She not only offered me a job, but also provided me with an education. She had two sons and she asked them if they were interested in teaching me some basic things as reading and writing. The older son, Michael, rejected her mother’s offer. But Joseph was different. He was very nice to me and he accepted to teach me without thinking twice. Indeed, he was thinking of becoming a teacher and I was the best chance in order to get some practice.

Thus, I learned how to write, at from that moment on I started to write letters to my sister Helene. I missed her so much…There was no night in which I didn’t think of her and of our relationship. Helene was very intelligent. When she was 3 years old our father taught her to write. He didn’t taught me how to write because he entrusted this duty to Helene. He told her that she should be the one who was going to teach me how to write. Helene wanted to teach me how to write, but she was very busy and she didn’t find time enough to teach me properly. But before leaving our house in the town I promised her that I was going to learn to write and that I was going to write her. When these words escaped from my mouth she told me that I should forget about that and about our life in the countryside. She told me that I had the chance of living a new life and that I had to take advantage of it. She told me that I should not write her, that my ties should be broken and that I should forget about our family and mainly about her. I though she was joking when she told me that. I laughed at her even if her face was full of tears. I told her how stupid she was and that I won’t never in my life forget her nor our family. After listening to these words she told me crying: “Go away and don’t come back, please, go away Michelle”.

I wrote her millions of letters. Every night, I took a piece of paper and wrote her. I wrote her telling my feelings; how alone I felt without her; how much did I need her. But she never answered me. However, I kept on trying without loosing the last bit of hope.

Joseph was very nice to me in every way. We became very good and close friends. We shared our experiences and inner thoughts. He knew everything about Helene, she know every little thing that was kept inside my heart. He had that curious ability of knowing how to listen to a woman’s heart. And thus, we finally fell in love. Joseph and I were in love, and I started to enjoy my life in the city for the first time. When I was 22 he asked me to marry him. Her mother felt very happy about the idea of our marriage. We got married very quickly and started our life as a married couple in the city that you know nowadays; that is, the city we are now living on. This city was bigger than the one we left behind and our house was twice huger as the one that Joseph’s mother owned. This was the way in which my new life started. But even though I was living a fairy dream, I did never forget Helene. She was my sister, and even though years and years passed since the last time we saw each other, I still remember her porcelain face as if it were yesterday. I continued writing my letters and got no answer.

I cannot remember how many letters did I wrote during those years, but I never felt tired of writing them because somewhere in my heart I knew that they were opened and read even if I did not receive any answer.

However, one day, as I was sitting at the table writing another letter to Helene, my maid Lucy interrupted me and handed me a letter. I was terrified. I didn’t know what to do, my heart beat so strongly that I thought that it was going to go out of its cage and burst into the air. Lucy knew me very closely and rapidly noticed that I was starting to feel stressed about the letter’s arrival. She looked at me confidently and told me “Don’t be afraid of opening it. I’m sure that you will be glad of reading it”. She was right. Now I am very glad of having opened it. But at that moment, I was so terrified about the information that the letter could contain that I wanted to cry and burst into tears in order to liberate myself. Many questions started to flourish inside my mind: Who was the letter from? What is the information that is contains? Bad or good news? Suddenly, I reacted quickly. I examined the weak envelop that was hiding the letter. I took my letter-opener and I started to tear the paper softly. A letter was inside of it and I was there to read it. I took the letter and opened it with my shaky hands. I thought I was going to faint when I recognized the letter of my sister Helene. This is the only brief letter that my sister wrote me in her whole life:

Dear Michelle,

As you will know, I’m Helene, your older sister. First, I have to apologize for not having answered your letters, but I promised our mother that I would never do it. She thought that if I wrote you telling how much I missed you, you would have returned home and leave behind the great opportunity that life was offering you. But now, our mother is dead, and I’m finally released from my prison, from this farm-like-cage.

Oh my dearest sister, there are so many things that I have to tell you about and so less time to tell you them. Our mother died five years ago. But don’t worry, she didn’t suffer. After her death I got married to James. He was the milkman who used to come to our farm in order to collect our cow’s milk. He has treated me very well, but he died last year because of an illness and now I’m here alone in the farm. Now it is winter, and there is no chance of growing anything here and everyday that passes is like a torture. I don’t have anything to eat and you know that in winter our nearest neighbors tend to go to the city to their warm houses. But let’s talk about other things.

I have to tell you another more important thing. I have had a child. She is a girl, I have called her Michelle. Thus, you will know that I haven’t forget you either. She is very cute and small. She is the cutest baby I have ever seen. She is like a gift for me. Her skin is so pale and delicate, and her eyes are light blue like the sky. I gave birth two days ago and now, you know, I’m feeling very weak. But the reason why I’m wasting my last energies in writing this letter to you is because I want you to take care of Michelle. I beg you to be merciful and take care of her. I’m dying my dearest sister, I simply know it. I would like you to have her and to give to her all the love that you kept for me. Love her, be tender with her, teach her, tell her off, treat her as if she were your child.

I know you will be the best mother that Michelle can have. I know that you can do it. You have always been so lovely in your letters, always keeping your hope, always being so persevering. I love you my dearest sister. I am sorry for not having written you before, I am sorry for so many things that I have made wrong, I am sorry if I have hurt you. I beg you to forgive me and to take care of my most precious treasure: Michelle.

Don’t be sad about me, don’t cry about me. I have been happy during the last five years, I have had you always in my mind every second, every minute, every hour. You know you have always been in my heart, and now, you will have me through my daughter’s eyes.

I love you,

Helene

This was all. This was all I wanted you to know. This was my story and this was the way in which your real mother said me goodbye. You cannot imagine, my darling, how much did I cry or how many times did I read this letter to convince myself that this was actually happening. But then you came to my arms. I hugged you and you looked at me so sweetly that I immediately fell in love with you.

This was the truth about my life, about your life and, above all, about Helene’s life. It is the truth about everything. It is the story of my life and the decisions that I took and made me the woman that nowadays I am. I know that some decisions were not wittily made, but others like the decision of making you mine have compensated me for all the wrong decisions that I did in the past. You know that you are my baby Michelle, you know that I love you and I know that you will understand everything that I have written in this letter.

This letter is for you. Keep it and read it whenever you wish to.

]]> http://nazatxu.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/this-letter-is-meant-for-you/feed/ 0 nazatxu missmaid http://nazatxu.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/mistress-and-maid/ http://nazatxu.wordpress.com/2010/05/08/mistress-and-maid/#comments Sat, 08 May 2010 15:53:10 +0000 nazatxu http://nazatxu.wordpress.com/?p=14 ]]>

“Departing from the traditional iconography of the letter writer, Vermeer nevertheless relied upon the underlying thematic content to give poignance to his scene. Vermeer created a visual dialogue between them that conveys the intense psychological impact of the letter’s arrival.”

Arthur K. Wheelock

Jan Vermeer Van Delft (1632-1675) was a Dutch painter who pertained to the Golden Age of Dutch Art. The only information that we have nowadays about Vermeer’s life come from legal documents (debts and sales), births, baptisms and marriages. In 1653 he joined the Guild of Saint Luke as a painter and began to work as a professional artist. Although he did not make a living from his paintings (he only painted around 35 paintings), it seems that he had a patron called Pieter van Ruijven to which he sold his paintings. Regarding the main themes that he portrayed in his paintings, they were mostly domestic interiors. The most of Vermeer’s paintings are portraits (usually women who are writing letters, playing musical instruments or doing some domestic activity) with the exception of two cityscapes (The little street and View of Delft).

Mistress and Maid

Mistress and Maid was painted circa 1666-1667 in oil canvas and nowadays it is located in The Frick Collection Museum in New York. The general overview of the picture shows the figures of two women which is emphasized by the dark background. It seems that the mistress is writing something at the table and suddenly she is interrupted by her maid who is handing a letter to her. The painting’s interest lays on the letter that has just arrived and the mistress’ inner-thoughts.

The canvas appears to be well conserved and the main colors that are employed in the composition is a color scheme of yellow, blue, white, light gray and earth colors (umber and ochre). The main technique that Vermeer used to apply the colors in the painting is known as pointille. That is, “producing transparent colors by applying paint to the canvas in loosely granular layers”. Besides, he was considered to be an early artist who made use of the extremely expensive pigment lapis lazuli or natural ultramarine. In this painting, Vermeer played with yellow and blue colors which led to a clear contrast. The yellow color illuminates the mistress’ jacket and plays with the light of the scene. Comparing both yellow and blue, it can be observed that a strong contrast is present between them. Moreover, the usage of yellow for the jacket underlines the importance of the main figure in the painting, that is, the mistress. In short, the blue provides a visual contrast to the yellow of the jacket. The ochre and umber color tonalities were very much used in Vermeer’s works and this painting is a clea r example of it. The employment of this colors can be observed in the box and its visual effect turns to be a point of light in the picture. Apart from this, the white color plays an important role in the painting. The color of the letter that the maid hands in to her mistress is of a bright white color. This underlines the importance of the letter and makes the observer put his eye on the letter and realize how important it is. Finally, it can be hardly appreciated the presence of light gray in the letter that the mistress was writing before being interrupted by her maid. Indeed, there is a clear evidence of some written illegible lines in the piece of paper.

There are some anomalies that can be observed in this painting. First of all, it is worth mentioning that the figures are exceptionally large-scaled if they are compared to other Vermeer’s paintings. Indeed, these figures , together with the ones in the painting titled The Procuress, are the largest figures ever painted by Vermeer. Another technical anomaly that is important to mention is the dark background of the painting. This technique was used from Leonardo Da Vinci onwards and it was used in order to portray isolate figures and to make the three dimensional effect more effective and obvious. However, focusing on the dark backgroun d there can be seen some diagonal shifts which strongly indicate that probably a large-pulled back curtain was present. Thus, the dark background of the picture can be considered to be the result of new experimentation.

The light of the painting does not come from an open window as it has been already seen in some other paintings, such as Woman reading a letter by an open window or Young woman with a water pitcher. In this case, it seems that light is flooding over the seated mistress. That is, the main source of light in the picture is present in the mistress’ jacket.

Regarding the two figures that are the main protagonists in this painting, there are many characteristics with are worth mentioning. Looking at the mistress, there are some details which demonstrate that this woman belonged to a high social class. For instance, her fur-trimmed jacket which irradiates richness and was used by high class women when at home in order to protect themselves against the cold winter. Apart from this, her hair is dressed in the latest hair-stile and adorned with pearls which were a symbol of perfection and beauty which undoubtedly elevate the standing of the mistress. Her gesture and face expression indicate that she is surprised about the fact of receiving the unexpected letter. Her features are full of femininity and underline the gentleness with which they have been painted. This woman, as most Vermeer’s models, was not identified either.

“The sensitive, slightly blurred line of the mistress’ profile recalls one critic’s definition of the contour of the girl’s face in the Girl with a Pearl Earring as “the sweetest line ever painted.”” (retrieved from www.essentialvermeer.com, 21 April 2010)

The other main figure that appears in the painting is the mistress’ maid. Comparing both figures it can be easily noticed that the maid’s social status is subordinate. Th is can be seen in the maid’s clothes; she wears dark working clothes, that is, the typical maid attire. Moreover, her hair is dressed very plain and it is not either adorned. Concerning the maid’s gesture and posture it can be stated that her expression seems to be neutral, but it can also be interpreted as supportive or even confident role. It seems as if she were supporting her mistress, telling her that she should be not worried about the information that the letter may contain. This is a very logical interpretation since during the 17^th century maids where the ones who attended the needs of many aristocratic women at home. They usually knew their mistress’ every secret.

Finally, there are some elements which are important to point out and which undoubtedly reflect which were some of the main issues that aristocratic women were concerned with in the 17^th century. For example, the letter is the most important element in the composition. Actually, letters were considered to be a sign of communication in those times but only among those who were literate. The appearance of letters in this painting emphasize the importance of privacy which was an issue which was emerging. That is, the emergence of the individual and her inner thoughts. In this painting, there are two letters; one is sealed and the other is being written by the Mistress in the moment in which the maid interrupts her with the sealed letter. The inner thoughs that the just arrived letter produces in the mistress’ mind can be seen reflected in the expression of her face. Thus, the observer feels curious about the letter; is it a love letter? Is it a refusal? That is something that the observer is not able to know since the sealed letter keeps the mystery of the painting running.

Resources:

http://www.essentialvermeer.com/catalogue/mistress_and_maid.html

http://www.essentialvermeer.com/women%27s_faces/vermeer%27s_women.html

http://www.tchevalier.com/gwape/vermeer/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Vermeer

http://www.readingwoman.org/en/cols/2003/2.html

http://www.vermeer-foundation.org/biography.html

http://everything2.com/title/Mistress+and+Maid

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