Like many of Vermeer's paintings, Woman in Blue Reading a Letter has a calm and reflective mood, but it also leaves much for the viewer to decipher about the woman's emotions and the letter's contents," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "We are thankful to the Rijksmuseum for this generous loan to mark an extraordinary cultural event." DF: Once I knew that this was my next film, I started looking for a police department that would make sense to explore this question of what women could bring to it. I looked at one PD in Pittsburgh that had had a consent decree, which had resulted in a lot of women getting hired. Then I looked at Minneapolis, because it had a Chief who was a woman, Chief Harteau. I was in Minneapolis a week later, and she gave me full access to any woman who agreed to be in the film. She had just started a recruitment campaign for women and was really championing that type of reform in the department. The timing was crazy. Chief Harteau was like a one-woman consent decree in that she had made it a priority to put women in every rank of leadership. She really felt like more women could help transform the culture. Now, all this being said, MPD still had a relatively small percentage of women, only 16 percent — which is still above the national average — so it was still a very masculine institution and she was trying to change that. However, all the usual problems remain. Firstly, it's still written in third person present tense, and somehow it feels clunkier with every book. The ancient off-off non-love non-affair between Ruth and Nelson rumbles on, going nowhere as always. I spent a lot of time wondering what on earth either Ruth or Nelson's wife could see in this rather neanderthal, bad-tempered, somewhat obnoxious man – nope, it's a mystery! (In fact, Ruth herself is constantly objecting to his macho, hectoring style – what exactly is it about him that she's supposed to love?) I know some people like this aspect of the books, but I've been hoping that Ruth would move on for about five books now – she seems increasingly pathetic as time goes on, a middle-aged woman constantly hankering after someone else's husband. Vermeer of Delft, Albert Blankert, Robert Ruurs, Willem L. van de Watering, p. 42-43, 49, 54, 63, 77, 98, cat.nr. 14

Though Vermeer’s paintings may look like snapshots taken from daily life, his compositions were anything but unplanned. Score recorded February 2020 @ Allegro Recordings in Burbank, CA, under contract with the American Federation of Musicians, Local 47, Los Angeles VALENTINA VALENTINI: How did you end up filming the Minneapolis Police Department, of all the departments in America? DF: Part of the problem is that departments’ image is so horrible and aggressive — who would want to be part of that? Redefining and reimagining public safety is tantamount to changing that. How do we redefine what their purpose is? Is it about enforcing the laws or is it about making communities safer? In that different paradigm, I think more women might want to be a part of it.Much more it shows that Elly isn't just a formulaic plot writer. Her lead character Ruth doesn't go on an archaeological dig every book, find bones and assist the police to solve the mystery, during which time her relationship with the main detective gets more involved. No the author has a time line. Ruth & Nelson's daughter is now at school and life is moving on with all its associated problems. We have a full set of familiar characters returning in book 8 of this brilliant series; that it is a religious place enables Cathbad to have an important role and provides a more sinister return for Father Henessey. What I love most is that significant as they both are, this isn't just the Ruth and Nelson show. Many of the other police officers and partners show development and demonstrate real issues in their lives outside of work. Wanda de Guébriant, “Lydia Delectorskaya, biographie,” in Dominique Szymusiak et al., Lydia D.: Lydia Delectorskaya, muse et modèle de Matisse, exh.cat. (Paris: Réunion des Musées Nationaux, 2010), 204. The drawing is reproduced on p. 25. It would eventually be given to the Pushkin Museum, Moscow. Een schrijver ziet meer : Nederlandse auteurs en het Rijksmuseum, Greetje Heemskerk, Kader Abdolah, p. 82-83

Ruth is someone I would love to have as a friend. She is intelligent, academic, and has a wide range of interests. You could have a wide ranging conversation with her and never be bored. Nelson's wife, Michelle, is pretty but very shallow. When the whole Michelle & Tim situation explodes into view, Ruth ends up wondering what two intelligent complex men could possibly see in Michelle. I guess Michelle is the obvious choice if you are fixated on physical appearance. For me, attraction is a complex mix of appearance, sense of humour, intelligence, kindness, and interests. Just being handsome is not nearly enough. If I was to go speed dating, I'd be asking questions about his last vacation destination, if he speaks a language besides English, or how he spent his last weekend. Z Cars, ironically, as supposedly the more advanced series, had very little for their WPC characters to do. In the 1960s WPC Jenny Stacey (Lynne Furlong) was involved in a number of early storylines, but was gradually phased out. The 1970s incarnation of the show had policewomen played by, among others, Alison Steadman and Stephanie Turner, but the emphasis overall was on their male counterparts. No other police drama of the time broke this formula in any meaningful way.Importantly, Vermeer was not particularly adventurous with his subject matter. And in the case of his depictions of letter readers and writers, he relied quite heavily on precedent, often directly deriving passages from the works of his contemporaries. From the darkness, an arm pulls you into a small shop. As your eyes adjust, you see a pale woman in sharp clothes gesturing towards a wall of potions.