The Procuress

Johannes Vermeer

Oil on canvas

Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden

Painted in 1656, The Procuress (Dutch: De koppelaarster) is Vermeer's first known genre painting, depicting a scene of mercenary love set in what appears to be a brothel. Four half-length figures are arranged around a carpet-covered table: a young woman in a yellow dress accepts a coin while a man places his hand on her chest, as a smiling figure in a feathered hat looks on — a composition belonging to the Dutch tradition of bordeeltjes, or 'little brothel' scenes popularized by the Utrecht school. Executed in oil on canvas with a rich palette of deep reds, yellows, and strong chiaroscuro, the work reflects the influence of Dirck van Baburen's treatment of the same subject, a painting owned by Vermeer's mother-in-law Maria Thins. Signed and dated by the artist himself at the lower right, it stands as one of the few Vermeer paintings with an undisputed, artist-applied date, and marks a pivotal transitional moment between his early history paintings and the refined domestic interiors for which he became celebrated.