A Girl Receiving a Letter

My favorite painting in the Timken Museum of Art is "A Girl Receiving a Letter". The size of the painting is 10-1/8 x 9-5/8 in. The medium of the painting is oil on panel. The painting was created by Metsu, Gabriel in 1658. Metsu was born in January, 1629. He was son of the painter Jacques Metsu, under whom he probably first studied. In 1648, he was a founder member of the guild in Leiden. In 1657, Metsu settled …

…can temporarily go back the old time and capture the Romance moment for a second. Metsu also created another pair of paintings that are about the same theme, love letter. However, the painting is still about a man writing a letter and a woman receiving the letter. This shows that during that time, the man is allowed a more casual, active manner, while tradition demanded that the young woman's composure be more formal and passive.