Rijksmuseum: The Milkmaid

The Milkmaid, also known as The Kitchen Maid, is an oil-on-canvas painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer. It depicts a domestic kitchen servant, known as a “milkmaid”, and is currently on display at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, Netherlands, which considers it one of its most popular attractions.

The exact date of the painting’s completion is unknown, with estimates varying by source. The Rijksmuseum estimates it was completed around 1658, while the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City suggests it was painted around 1657 or 1658. The “Essential Vermeer” website provides a wider range of 1658-1661.

The painting is highly illusionistic, conveying intricate details as well as a sense of the weight of the woman and the table. In this painting, a milkmaid is shown in a simple room carefully pouring milk into a ceramic bowl on a table, which is intended to hold dairy products such as butter and cheese. Historically, milkmaids would work exclusively in the corrals before being recruited to do housework as well by large houses, rather than hiring more staff. Also on the table before the milkmaid is different types of bread. 

She is a young, sturdy woman wearing a clean white cap, a blue apron, and work sleeves pushed up from thick forearms. You’ll see a foot warmer on the floor behind her, close to Delft wall tiles. This depicts Cupid (to the viewer’s left) and a figure with a pole (to the right). Strong light is streaming in from the window on the left side of the canvas.