The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer, 1665
High Resolution Prints related to "The Girl with the Pearl Earring"
|
|
|
|
One of the most famous of Jan Vermeer's works of art, some say equivalent to Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Painted in an interval of 10 years, 1665-1675. Oil on canvas. 44.5 x 39 cm. Now hanging at the Mauritshuis museum, in The Hague.
Youthful womanhood remains the centre of Vermeer"s works, and no other Dutch painter ever placed woman on a pedestal as he did. Rembrandt"s sensuality was as alien to him as was Jan Steen"s jocularity. He was a slave to his tender admiration of the sex, and his experience partook less of reality than of a dream.
The noblest expression of this mentality is his Head of a Girl in the Mauritshuis, perhaps the most sublime representation of a young girl to be found in the whole artistic production of the Netherlands.
The word mystery is as a rule of little weight, but here it comes spontaneously to our lips, for the face expresses something undefined and puzzling that for ever asks a question to which there is no answer. This expression has caused the little picture to be mentioned in the same breath with Leonardo"s Mona Lisa.
But, whereas the Italian artist intentionally evoked something eternally inconceivable, it is as if the Dutchman succeeded in creating a similar atmosphere by unconsciously entering into the spirit of his model.
From out the dark background the head shines like ivory; there is surprise in the wide-open eyes and slightly parted lips. The girl wears a yellowish green jacket and a blue turban, the yellow and blue ends of which hang down over her neck. Here Vermeer has limited his range of colors, hitherto so varied, and created a composition in his favorite tonal contrast, yellow and blue.
The light glides almost imperceptibly over the girl"s face, but is intensely reflected in her eyes and in the pearl hanging from her ear. The brushwork is decided and at the same time the artist"s touch is light as down. Veth once wrote of this picture: "A soothing star, resplendent under the broad, nocturnal sky."
More than once Vermeer attempted to reproduce a girl"s head in this simple manner. The picture in the Due d"Arenberg"s collection closely resembles the one at The Hague. But the features are devoid of grace, the eyes too far apart and the tightly closed mouth much too wide.
The picture is also wanting in charm and refinement. Nevertheless, the colors and composition of both pictures are much alike; and here too the handling of light is very effective.
Recent News Articles related to Vermeer Vermeer Portraits
| ">'Girl with a Pearl' has a date in Atlanta in 2013Access Atlanta High Museum to bring Vermeer's - 26 Jan 2012 at 7:06pm "Girl with a Pearl Earring" to the Southeast ...Art Daily | |
| In Brief: Fiction Wall Street Journal - 10 Feb 2012 at 4:15pm Similar fashions control the book world, and for the past decade there has been a demand for fiction that imagines the stories behind the women who sat for famous portraits. Perhaps begun by two best sellers about the life and work of Vermeer—Susan ... | |
 Cambridge News | Students go Dutch to make the most of Vermeer Cambridge News - 25 Jan 2012 at 4:46am Mr Wiltshire taught the pupils how to paint portraits using some of the techniques of 17th century Dutch artist Vermeer. They were able to paint portraits, write art reviews and keep an online blog arts diary. It was part of outreach project being run ... |
Other paintings/pictures tagged "Vermeer Portraits"
"The Geographer" (1668) Stadelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt |
"Girl with a Red Hat" (1668) National Gallery of Art, Washington |
"A Woman Asleep at Table" (1657) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
"Portrait of a Young Woman" (1666-1667) Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
Popular Works by Johannes Vermeer
The Art of Painting (1665-1667) • Diana and her Companions (1655-1656) • Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (1654-1655) • The Allegory of the Faith (1671-1674)
Vermeer Music Paintings
Lady Seated at a Virginal (1673) • Young Woman Seated at the Virginals (1670) • The Concert (1665-1666) • Girl Interrupted at Her Music (1660-1661) • Lady Standing at a Virginal (1670) • The Guitar Player (1672) • Woman with a Lute near a Window (1663) • A Lady at the Virginals with a Gentleman (1662-1665)
Vermeer Portraits
The Geographer (1668) • Girl with a Red Hat (1668) • A Woman Asleep at Table (1657) • Portrait of a Young Woman (1666-1667) • The Lacemaker (1669-1670) • The Astronomer (1668)
Vermeer Letter Paintings
Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid (1670) • Woman in Blue Reading a Letter (1663-1664) • Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (1657) • Lady with Her Maidservant Holding a Letter (1667) • The Love Letter (1667-1668)
Vermeer Courtship Paintings
A Lady Drinking and a Gentleman (1658) • A Lady and Two Gentlemen (1659) • The Procuress (1656) • The Officer and the Laughing Girl (1657-1659)
Vermeer Views of Delft
View of Delft (1660-1661) • The Little Street (1657-1658)
Vermeer Women at the Window
Woman with a Pearl Necklace (1662-1664)
Visitors Comments on The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Vermeer