The shadow of her nose was underpainted with red lake while the highlights on her nose, right cheek and forehead have a thick, cream-colored underpaint. The dark background and the deeper shadows of the girl's face, turban, and bodice were established with a mixture of black and earth pigments and further modeled with a paler, ocher color. The ground is a thick, yellowish-white layer containing lead white chalk, and possibly umber. The composition was laid in with light and dark areas. Only fragments of the original tacking edges survive. The fine, plain-weave linen support, which has been lined, has a threadcount of 14.7 x 14.3 per cm². Its material and the light yellow color with a blue border color seem to be comparable to the one seen draping from the still life in The Art of Painting and The Love Letter.
![girl with the pearl earring girl with the pearl earring](https://cpp.canon/app/uploads/2018/02/girl-with-pearl-earrings-1920x1080_optimized.jpg)
It is possible that the piece of fabric used as a makeshift turban, whatever its practical use may have been, appears in other pictures by Vermeer. The out-of-the-ordinary garb, the black background (typical of Sweerts) and the curious turban coupled with the distinctive blue/light-yellow color scheme may have indeed struck Vermeer's imagination. 1655–1656 or about ten years before the Girl with a Pearl Earring was presumably painted.
![girl with the pearl earring girl with the pearl earring](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/0c9109c71ea0524d9fe840f91fabd67bb94a26a9/r=537&c=0-0-534-712/local/-/media/USATODAY/GenericImages/2013/01/14/girl_pearl-3_4.jpg)
Critics now believe that Vermeer drew his inspiration from art rather than life, specifically from Michael Sweerts' A Boy Wearing a Turban and Holding a Nosegay, an excellent example of the Dutch tronie tradition. In the 17th century, a Dutch girl would not have been easily seen wearing a turban. However, the type of turban worn by Vermeer's young girl is so unusual that no reasonable comparison has been found in the context of European painting. And she has to find her way through this new and strange life outside the loving Protestant family she grew up in, now fragmented by accident and death.Īs Griet becomes part of her master's work, their growing intimacy spreads disruption and jealousy within the ordered household and even - as the scandal seeps out - ripples in the world beyond.įind out more about the historical background, what inspired me to write it, reviews, reading group guides and more.Like many other Dutch painters Vermeer enjoyed introducing an exotic note in his paintings welcoming the possibility to show off his technical prowess. On the verge of womanhood, Griet also contends with the growing attentions both from a local butcher and from Vermeer's patron, the wealthy van Ruijven. Six children (and counting) fill out the household, dominated by six-year-old Cornelia, a mischievous girl who sees more than she should. In contrast to her work in her master's studio, Griet must carve a place for herself in a chaotic Catholic household run by Vermeer's volatile wife Catharina, his shrewd mother-in-law Maria Thins, and their fiercely loyal maid Tanneke.
![girl with the pearl earring girl with the pearl earring](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_Nuta_CQvImI/TGRE8ve2xuI/AAAAAAAACrs/tN3QwjzjgCU/s1600/Johannes-Vermeer,-The-Girl-with-a-Pearl-Earring,-1665.jpg)
Vermeer slowly draws her into the world of his paintings - the still, luminous images of solitary women in domestic settings. Though different in upbringing, education and social standing, they have a similar way of looking at things. Her calm and perceptive manner not only helps her in her household duties, but also attracts the painter's attention. Girl With a Pearl Earring tells the story of Griet, a 16-year-old Dutch girl who becomes a maid in the house of the painter Johannes Vermeer. Who is the model and why has she been painted? What is she thinking as she stares out at us? Are her wide eyes and enigmatic half-smile innocent or seductive? And why is she wearing a pearl earring? One of the best-loved paintings in the world is a mystery.