Girl with a Pearl Earring
_-_The_Girl_With_The_Pearl_Earring_(1665).jpg) |
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| Artist | Johannes Vermeer |
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| Year | circa 1665 |
| Type | Oil on canvas |
| Dimensions | 44.5 cm × 39 cm (17.5 in × 15 in) |
| Location | Mauritshuis, The Hague |
The painting Girl with a Pearl Earring (Dutch: Het Meisje met de Parel) is one of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer's masterworks and as the name implies, uses a pearl earring for a focal point. Today the painting is kept in the Mauritshuis gallery in the Hague. It is sometimes referred to as "the Mona Lisa of the North" or "the Dutch Mona Lisa".
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[edit] Background
In general, very little is known about Vermeer and his works. This painting is signed "IVMeer" but not dated. It is unclear whether this work was commissioned, and if so, by whom. In any case, it is probably not meant as a conventional portrait.[1]
More recent Vermeer literature points to the image being a tronie, the Dutch 17th-century description of a ’head’ that was not meant to be a portrait. After the most recent restoration of the painting in 1994, the subtle colour scheme and the intimacy of the girl’s gaze toward the viewer have been greatly enhanced.[2]
On the advice of Victor de Stuers, who for years tried to prevent Vermeer's rare works from being sold to parties abroad, A.A. des Tombe purchased the work at an auction in the Hague in 1881, for only two guilders and thirty cents. At the time, it was in poor condition. Des Tombe had no heirs and donated this and other paintings to the Mauritshuis in 1902.[3]
In 1937, a very similar painting, Smiling Girl, at the time also thought to be by Vermeer, was donated by collector Andrew W. Mellon to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Now widely considered to be a fake, the painting was claimed by Vermeer expert Arthur Wheelock in a 1995 study to be by twentieth-century artist and forger Theo van Wijngaarden, a friend of Han van Meegeren.[3]
[edit] References in fiction
Tracy Chevalier wrote a historical novel, also entitled Girl with a Pearl Earring (1999), fictionalizing the circumstances of the painting's creation. In the novel, Johannes Vermeer becomes close with a fictional servant named Griet (based on his close friend Georgia Kendall), whom he hires as an assistant and has sit for him as a painting model while wearing one of his wife's pearl earrings.[4] The novel inspired a 2003 film[5] and 2008 play[6] of the same name. The 2003 film stars Scarlett Johansson as the girl with the pearl earring, Griet. Johansson was nominated for various awards including a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
[edit] See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Girl with a Pearl Earring |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Johannes Vermeer |
[edit] References
- ^ "Johannes Vermeer - Girl with a pearl earring". Mauritshuis. http://www.mauritshuis.nl/index.aspx?chapterid=2341&contentID=18308&SchilderijSsOtName=Titel&SchilderijSsOv=Girl%20with%20a%20pearl%20earring%.
- ^ Wadum, Jørgen; With contributions by L. Struik van der Loeff and R. Hoppenbrouwers (1994), Vermeer illuminated. Conservation, Restoration and Research., The Hague
- ^ a b Vrij Nederland (magazine) (February 26, 1996), p. 35–69.
- ^ Winant, Johanna (2000-01-26), "Novel paints a picture of a famous painting", Chicago Tribune: Tempo, pg. 3
- ^ Ebert, Roger (2003-12-26), "'Girl' painted in subtle shades", Chicago Sun-Times: 43, http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031226/REVIEWS/312260301/1023
- ^ Billington, Michael (2008-10-01), "Pearl's delicate shades get lost in the broad canvas of the stage", The Guardian: 36, http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/sep/30/theatre2
