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Vermeer's Naughty Milkmaid

The Dutch master’s most famous painting is on display in the U.S. for the first time since World War II. Alexandra Peers on the portrait’s erotic secrets. VIEW OUR GALLERY.

Published Oct. 1 2009 5:13AM EDT

galleries/2009/10/01/vermeer-s-naughty-milkmaid/vermeer-1_th3nnh

galleries/2009/10/01/vermeer-s-naughty-milkmaid/vermeer-1_mkey8r — Oil on canvas, 45.5 x 41 cm
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam SK-A-2344

galleries/2009/10/01/vermeer-s-naughty-milkmaid/vermeer-2_sez2t0 — Oil on canvas
18 x 16 in. (45.7 x 40.6)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1889 (89.15.21)

galleries/2009/10/01/vermeer-s-naughty-milkmaid/vermeer-3_fmpyud — Oil on canvas
34 1/2 x 30 1/8 in. (87.6 x 76.5 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913 (14.40.611)

galleries/2009/10/01/vermeer-s-naughty-milkmaid/vermeer-4_fn7hir — Oil on canvas
17 ½ x 15 ¾ in. (44.5 x 40 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in memory of Theodore Rousseau, Jr, 1979 (1979.396.1)

galleries/2009/10/01/vermeer-s-naughty-milkmaid/vermeer-5_ecbooh — Oil on canvas
20 1/4 x 18 in. (51.4 x 45.7 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1900 (25.110.24)

galleries/2009/10/01/vermeer-s-naughty-milkmaid/vermeer-6_hhgqrf — Oil on canvas
45 x 35 in. (114.3 x 88.9 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931 (32.100.18)

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