(1660s) The painting is alternatively titled Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman, an exact description of its subject matter. On the floor near the keyboard instrument lies a viol, a large bowed string instrument also common during the Baroque era. In the documentary Tim's Vermeer, Tim Jenison attempted to test the theory that Vermeer painted with the help of optical devices such as a camera obscura to achieve accurate perspective, a theory also advanced by contemporary British artist David Hockney and physicist Charles Falco.