A little bird revisits

“The hummingbird stands for love” remains one of my favourite poems. In this Vermeer-style scene, I see a young woman at the window of a Dutch interior. She is bathed in light. In my version, she holds open a book or a letter, but gazes at the window. The opulent curtains and tasteful furnishings draw my eye.

The hummingbird stands for love

In old Dutch paintings a green-winged hummingbird might stand for love when it’s on the inside of a pane of glass. Hovering outside, it signifies the woman within has been betrayed. How would you know this were it not for the scholars and books? You would have to be Dutch from 1656. — In my notebook,