A painting a day · No. 12 of 38
The Milkmaid
Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)
c. 1658–1660 · Oil on canvas · Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The story
A kitchen maid pours milk into a bowl. That is all that happens, and Vermeer makes it feel important. Ordinary work, done with care, was a subject the Dutch took seriously.
Look closer
- The thin, steady stream of milk — the only thing moving.
- The bread and the basket shine with tiny dots of light-coloured paint.
- Look at the bare wall: a nail and its small shadow, and the holes where other nails used to be.
Did you know
The Rijksmuseum bought it in 1908, after a public debate in the Netherlands about whether the price was too high.
Why we can show it
Johannes Vermeer died in 1675. UK copyright lasts for the artist’s life plus 70 years, so even under today’s rules this painting would have been free for anyone to show since 1746. The photograph is a faithful copy of a flat work, which creates no new copyright. We do not store the picture: it comes from Wikimedia Commons each time it is needed. More on this.