Girl with the Red Hat

Johannes Vermeer painted this intimate portrait around 1665-1666. A young woman looks over her shoulder at the viewer, her parted lips suggesting she's about to speak. Her dramatic red hat and blue robe create a striking contrast.

This is one of Vermeer's smallest paintings, roughly the size of a paperback book, yet its visual impact is enormous. Light glints off her pearl earring and the carved lion finials of her chair. The soft focus of the background suggests Vermeer may have used a camera obscura as a compositional aid.

It is one of only four Vermeers in the United States and a jewel of the National Gallery of Art collection in Washington.