The piece of Baroque art I particularly like is The Milkmaid painted by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer in 1658. I like its representation of a single person's profession and its various bright colors, which really help you focus on the subject at hand (the milkmaid). One thing I don't really like about the painting is that it feels somewhat empty, but I can understand that Vermeer painted it this way in order to get the viewer's attention focused on the milkmaid, and not some other interesting object. The reason I chose this piece over others was because I thought it was the perfect representation of Dutch Baroque art. It resembles the late style of Dutch Baroque art in that it uses brighter colors, has a single subject, and demonstrates a quiet, peaceful mood in the setting. It also reflects the culture of the Netherlands, since it is not religious (the Netherlands was and still is by far the most progressive European nation) and it depicts a common job among the people, showing the middle class life of the Dutch (versus the very upper class).