The Smiling Girl
Anonymous Artist Johannes Vermeer
Shown from the chest up, a young, pale-skinned woman looks over her shoulder and grins widely at us so her bottom teeth show in this vertical painting. The girl’s shoulders face our left in profile, and she turns her head to look out from the corners of her large, dark eyes. She has a round face with faint brows, a slightly turned up nose, and full pink lips. A teardrop-shaped pearl hangs from the ear we see. Her dark hair is brushed back and covered by a charcoal gray cloth, which drapes to her upper back. A wide white collar lies across an ochre-yellow garment, and the background is dark brown. The whole painting has a yellow cast.
Details
- Palette
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Select a color to find related artworks.
- Medium
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- overall: 41 x 31.8 cm (16 1/8 x 12 1/2 in.) framed: 68.9 x 59.1 x 12.1 cm (27 1/8 x 23 1/4 x 4 3/4 in.)
- Department
- CNE-B
- Holding institution
- National Gallery of Art
- Image provider
- national-gallery-of-art
- License
- CC0-1.0
- Credit
- Andrew W. Mellon Collection
Art Genome Taxonomy
8 tags
Subject Matter
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Individual Portrait Visual · 98%
A single woman is shown from the chest up in a tightly cropped, portrait-like composition.
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Face Visual · 99%
The composition is dominated by the woman's face and its features, including her eyes, nose, lips, and smile.
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Eye Contact Visual · 98%
The woman turns her head toward the viewer and looks outward with a direct gaze.
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References to Art History Metadata · 99%
The catalog displays the attribution as “Imitator of Johannes Vermeer,” establishing an explicit relationship to art-historical source material.
Visual Qualities
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Dark Colors Visual · 96%
Dark brown and charcoal tones occupy much of the background, head covering, and surrounding field, contrasting with the lighter face and collar.
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Earth Tones Visual · 94%
Brown, ochre, muted yellow, tan, and subdued gray-green tones dominate the visible palette.
Medium and Techniques
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Oil Painting Both · 99%
The metadata identifies the medium as oil on canvas, and the image visibly presents a painted surface with modeled forms and brushwork.
Time Periods
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1918 - 1939 (Interwar) Art Metadata · 99%
The catalog dates the work to c. 1925, placing it within the interwar period of 1918–1939.
Source & rights
Imitator of Johannes Vermeer. The Smiling Girl. Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington.