Woman Playing the Virginal 1640

Curator: Looking at Jan Miense Molenaer’s "Woman Playing the Virginal" from around 1640, what are your first thoughts? Editor: Well, it’s busy, isn't it? The stark black and white floor almost vibrates against the earth tones of the walls and the figures. There's an awkwardness to the composition, almost as if Molenaer wasn’t sure where to focus. Curator: I see what you mean about the composition, but for me, it’s precisely that density that makes the painting so compelling. It shows a real moment from life in the Dutch Golden Age. Here we see not just a lady at her virginal, but the commodification of leisure and the status associated with it. Note the exotic monkey perched on the instrument, that in itself was probably worth more than most of their lives! Editor: I agree that it's interesting from a social perspective. The textures of the oil paint are beautifully rendered to describe wealth—see how the satin reflects light! Still, if we move past that, it is just a scene made of pigment bound by linseed oil applied to canvas. Curator: But surely the 'how' tells us as much as the 'what'! Oil paint facilitated a realism that previous materials didn't. That allows Molenaer to present a detailed inventory of domestic life. Notice, for example, how the musical instrument itself is ornately decorated, its purpose extending beyond merely music production to become a decorative element. Consider too how materials such as the clothing of the children, that's quality cloth dyed to make a fashion statement. Editor: It's the use of light and dark to model form that strikes me. He uses light not only to give us textures but also to suggest spatial recession into what seems like an adjoining room, echoing and magnifying the themes of domesticity. But consider, for instance, what we do *not* know about his subjects. Is this simply an artistic construction that has no basis in Molenaer's own reality? Curator: Possibly! Though, as a genre painting, "Woman Playing the Virginal" uses material and cultural signals as a way of encoding societal aspirations and markers of class in 17th century Holland. Editor: True, and looking at this painting has helped me focus more on these tensions, it is good to challenge the old models and be reminded of the layers embedded within artwork like this. Curator: And for me, the experience demonstrates how visual, and tactile realities intersect in Molenaer's social portrait.