Whitewashed wall

**Not empty, but active.** The pale wall is a major compositional field, allowing Vermeer to stage the maid’s silhouette, the nail holes, the tile band, and the warm shadow around the figure. Close looking reveals stains, small cracks, and tonal shifts rather than a flat blank surface. This restrained background helps heighten the stillness of the scene and gives the figure’s everyday action an almost monumental clarity. **References:** Rijksmuseum collection record; _Occupational Medicine_ 73, no. 6 (2023), on nail holes and wall details; Metropolitan Museum of Art essay.

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