The Milkmaid

You can explore Johannes Vermeer's mid-seventeeth-century painting "The Milkmaid" here, and you can also read about it on the website of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.  It was loaned to the Met in New York for an exhibit last summer.  The image above really doesn't do it justice, but it gives you a general impression of the work itself.  Look at the beautiful detailed weaving patterns on the basket hanging by the window and the bread basket on the table.  And see the way the blue cloth drapes over the table's edge?  Evidently the object on the floor in the bottom right-hand corner is a foot stove.  I especially like the way she holds her right hand while tilting the milk jug... it visually gives a sense of the weight she's carefully bearing.