![Johannes Vermeer - Girl Interrupted at Her Music [c.1658-59]](http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3886/15006365756_1ab6d7b90b_o.jpg)
Music-making, a recurring subject in Vermeer’s interior scenes, was associated in the seventeenth century with courtship. In this painting of a duet or music lesson momentarily interrupted, the amorous theme is reinforced by the picture of Cupid with raised left arm dimly visible in the background; the motif is derived from a popular book on emblems of love published in 1608 and symbolises fidelity to a single lover.
[Frick Collection, New York - Oil on canvas, 39.4 x 44.5 cm]