Leading German model, Florian Blume, holds a boarding pass and appears deeply reflective. Vermeer's young lady is also lost in thought, as she writes a letter which may take many weeks to reach it's recipient. Letter writing and romance was a common theme in the art of Vermeer and many Dutch and Flemish artists in the 17th Century.
Watson presents us with a contemporary parallel, and subsequently invites us to consider the dramatic changes in communication and travel since Vermeer's lifetime.
