A young woman plays a virginal with her back to the viewer while a male companion stands beside her. A mirror above reveals her face turned slightly toward him — hinting at an emotional connection her posture conceals. The virginal's inscription reads: "Music is the companion of joy, the balm of sorrow."

A bass viol on the floor implies a duet not yet begun, or a relationship unresolved. Music and love were deeply intertwined in Dutch Golden Age symbolism.

Entered the Royal Collection in 1762 from Consul Joseph Smith's collection, misattributed to Frans van Mieris until identified as Vermeer in 1866. At Buckingham Palace.