Here, for the first time, we see the light, mood, complex composition, and the symbolism characteristic of mature Vermeer. The girl is well-dressed, perhaps the lady of the house, and we are separated from her by a table and chair. There is a white pitcher, and in front of the girl is an almost invisible wine-glass: presumably she is sleeping off the wine.

When the painting was sold in 1696, it was entitled Een dronke slafende Meyd aen een Tafel, [A drunken sleeping maid at a table], then in 1737 it was sold again, but as Een slapent Vrouwtje [A sleeping young woman].

The table is covered in a rich oriental carpet, with a bowl of fruit, symbolic of the Fall of Eve, and a partially wrapped egg, implying unbridled lust. Broken eggs on the floor are a common symbol in the work of another 17th century Dutch artist, Jan Steen. Above the girl is a dimly lit picture with a masked face visible-- it is thought to depict deception and sincerity in love. X-rays reveal that a man framed in the doorway has been painted over.