Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid painting's canvas was almost certainly cut from the same bolt used for "Woman with a Lute". "Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid" is the first of the artist's experiments with centrifugal composition; where the focus is not only from the centre of the canvas. In addition, it is his third work in which the drama and dynamic is not centred on a single figure. The maid is shown standing in the mid-ground, behind her lady, with her hands crossed and waiting for the letter to be completed. The positions of their bodies indicate that the two women are disconnected.
Variations on a Theme by Haydn Variations on a Theme by Haydn The Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn, (), now also called the Saint Anthony Variations, is a work in the form of a theme and variations, composed by Johannes Brahms in the summer of 1873 at Tutzing in Bavaria. It consists of a theme in B major based on a "Chorale St Antoni", eight variations, and a finale. The work was published in two versions: for two pianos, written first but designated Op. 56b; and for orchestra, designated Op. 56a. The orchestral version is better known and much more often heard than the