The Girl with the Wine Glass

The painting depicts an interior scene lit from the left, with a young woman in a red satin gown seated in the foreground as a man offers her a wine glass, while another figure sits at a table with bread and cheese in the background. The composition centers the woman, with the gesture of the arm and the raised glass creating a diagonal that guides the viewer’s eye, set against a window with stained glass and a checkered floor that add depth. The color palette combines warm reds and flesh tones with cool blues and neutral grays, and Vermeer’s smooth brushwork and careful rendering of fabrics, lace, and reflective surfaces exemplify his naturalistic Dutch Golden Age style.