Scripta 9_2_link_final.pdf - Uniandrade

The second ekphrastic description, the painting The Girl with a Wine Glass
(see Fig. 2), is described by several characters. The most relevant description
is given by Pieter, the butcher’s son. Pieter makes the rumors about the
maid clear to Griet while verbally describing the scene:
It was several years ago now. It seems van Ruijven wanted one of his
kitchen maids to sit for a painting with him. They dressed her in one of his
wife’s gowns, a red one, and van Ruijven made sure there was wine in the
painting so he could get her to drink every time they sat together. Sure
enough, before the painting was finished she was carrying van Ruijven’s
child. (CHEVALIER, 1999, p. 126)
Fig. 2 – Johannes Vermeer, The Girl with the Wine Glass – Dame en twee heren – (Delft,
1659-60), oil painting, 30 ¾ x 26 3/8 in. Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Brunswick.
The second category, ‘Pre-work ekphrastic moments’, occurs when
there is a discussion of how a certain scene should be depicted: the theme,
the disposition of objects, the figures, the colors, and even the intended
intensity of light. There are several long dialogues between Griet and her
master, most of them are also discussed throughout the painting execution
in the following section.
Scripta Uniandrade, v. 9, n. 2, jul.-dez. 2011 17