The Empty Glass

This is one of van Mieris's small panels of a single figure caught in a quiet moment, the kind of picture Leiden collectors prized above almost anything. The glass gives the painting its name and its challenge, since clear glass was the hardest thing a fine painter could attempt, its edges and highlights built up in tiny strokes until the brush disappears. He never dated it, and no anecdote clings to it. What holds you is the surface, the way satin, skin and glass are each given their own touch on a panel not much larger than a book.