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Jessica Burnett
ARTH 2710
T, H 7:00-8:20
Professor, David Carney
The Girl with the Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer’s greatest work, The Mona Lisa of the North, Johannes The
Girl with the Pearl Earring, is one of the most recognized paintings of our time. She has
inspired paintings, movie, and books, all attempting to give her a story behind the
painting. Painted with oil paints on canvas in 1665, it stands 17.5 in x 15 in. and is
located in The Hague in Mauritshuis (Liedtke). Vermeer’s use of light reflecting paints is
revolutionary in modern painting. The composition and allure of the Girl with the Pearl
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Earring are just part to the paintings success. Feelings of intimacy, innocence, and
mystery, leave the viewer wondering and have made this Vermeer’s The Girl with the
Pearl Earring timeless.
The Girl with the Pearl Earring is often compared to Leonardo Da Vinci’s,
Mona Lisa. Yet they are made famous for different reasons. The Mona Lisa is made
famous for the mystery of her smile but The Girl with the Pearl Earring is famous for
relationship that is felt between the artist and the model (Wheelock). The way the that
Vermeer painted her with wet, open lips, and longing expression suggests an intimacy
level between the person that she is looking at and herself that is far more than just
friendship. Almost immediately we begin questionings the story behind the girl.
Wondering whether this girl was a wife or a lover leaves the viewer forever guessing.
The intimacy portrayed gives timeless curiosity and keeps the painting famous to this
day.
The girl in the painting appears to be young. Young and innocent are all
words that seem to coincide. The innocence of the girl only adds to the story we create of
her in our heads. In Vladimir Nabokov’s controversial book Lolita, The main character,
Hubert, a middle-aged man, becomes infatuated with a 12-year-old girl. This book
describes a fictional taboo situation, yet forbidden love intrigues our minds a real life
Lolita (Nabokov). The soft longing look in the girl’s eyes, her naïve and quiet demeanor
give this us the impression she is young. Vermeer was in his thirties when he painted The
Girl with the Pearl Earring. Lolita syndrome or young love the innocence of the girl
inspires viewer’s curiosity.
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Mystery is a concept that has made more than one painting famous. As
mentioned before, the reason for the Mona Lisa’s smile or why the lady in Edvard
Munch’s The Scream, is screaming. Mystery plays a part in to The Girl with the Pearl
Earring as well. The mystery of whom the girl is and why she is there has been a question
that has left scholars bewildered. Since Vermeer was not a famous painter while alive his
life was not documented in detail. When his paintings did become famous nothing could
be found on the girl. Some believe that is his oldest daughter while others believe she was
a lover of sorts. Since nothing is fact the mystery of the girl in the painting can only be
solved with theories. Her mystery has inspired others to give her an identity, most
famously the book written by Tract Chevalier. His book title The Girl with the Pearl
Earring tells her to be a servant to which Vermeer wishes to paint (Chevalier).
Vermeer’s unlikely fame from The Girl with the Pearl Earring has intrigued
viewers and spectators for the ages. Her quiet beauty and allure separates her fro other
famous head portraits, and makes curiosity hard to suppress. Like the pearl in her ear this
painting represents more then just a pretty painting. The composition and beauty of the
painting has made it famous but the intimacy, innocence, and mystery makes Vermeer’s
The Girl with Pearl Earring timeless.
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Citations
Johannes Vermeer. Girl with the Pearl Earring. 1667. Painting. n.p. Web. 9 Nov 2012.
Leonardo Da Vinci. Mona Lisa. 1503-1519. Painting. n.p. Web. 9 Nov 2012.
Edvardrdo Munch. The Scream. 1893. Painting. n.p. Web. 9 Nov 2012.
Liedtke, Walter. "Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art
History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/verm/hd_verm.htm (October 2003)
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. 1981,1988. Jan Vermeer. New York: Abrams.
Nabokov, Vladimir. Lolita. New York: Putnam, 1955. Print.
Chevalier, Tracy. Girl with the Pearl Earring. New York: Dutton, 1999. Print.