Meet Me At The Met: Ana Gasteyer

Join Ana Gasteyer, actress, comedian, and singer, for a look at one of her favorite Met objects, Johannes Vermeer’s "Young Woman with a Water Pitcher" (ca. 1662). Along the way, Ana shares how her love of fine art began as a means of understanding history and why this view of an intimate moment in an ordinary woman’s day intrigues her.

The first work by Johannes Vermeer to enter an American collection, this painting embodies the artist’s interest in domestic themes, giving an almost voyeuristic glimpse into the private life of a woman before she presents her public face to the world. This is a picture that embodies what is so enduringly compelling about seventeenth-century Dutch art—its connection to observation. Here, a very humble, recognizable human task is transfigured into an action of utmost beauty and refinement.

Featured Object:
Johannes Vermeer (Dutch 1632–1675). Young Woman with a Water Pitcher (ca. 1662). Oil on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1889 (89.15.21)

Credits:

Senior Manager of Media Production: Skyla Choi
Series Producer and Director: Ann C. Collins
Editor: Lucas Groth
Cinematographer: Axel Baumann
Sound Recordist: Peter Miller
Additional Cinematography: Lucas Groth
Production Coordinator: Hayley Theisen
Met Intern: Rozie Brockington

Music provided by
Stephen J Rice / Pond5.com
GL / Pond 5.com

Special thanks
Stephan Wolohojian, John Pope-Hennessy Curator in Charge of European Paintings
Adam Eaker, Howard Marks Curator of European Paintings
Michael Plunkett
Nicole DeSantis