of portraying intimate, atmospherically lit domestic scenes. the woman pouring milk in a corner of the kitchen. but it is not the subject itself. what is so important here, it is its use of light and colour and of sharpness and blurred things which make this painting a sort of experience of viewing, of perception. vermeer dedicated himself to the search for stillness, like a curtain sometimes literally is drawn back. but the subjects often women in a domestic setting, are placed back from us. so there s stuff between us and them. there s a table or chair. they re not looking at us a lot of the time, and itjust feels like they re doing their own thing and you re trying to get their attention and you realise you can t. and so you just you think, wow, he s really privileged, this domestic moment, and there must be something special about it.