Girl with a Pearl Earring: Who is Vermeer’s Woman with a Pearl Earring?

This article is taken from Figaro special edition Vermeer, Painting Silence.. in this special issue Discover the Dutch Golden Age, the life and work of the Delft prodigy, on the occasion of the largest retrospective exhibition ever staged in Vermeer, at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

She brought it back to us, but gently turned her head. His look thrown over our shoulder pulls us in and doesn’t let us go. Her sensuality mixed with innocence is disturbing. The fairness of her complexion contrasts with the darkness of the background. A sharp light illuminates his face and results in a play of shadows on the right. Her white collar is reflected in the shimmering pearl hanging from her ear. His head is covered with a blue and lemon yellow turban.

What do you think as she looks at us? She seems to want to seduce us, but she looks a little sad. How old could she be? 13, 25, 30 years old? Her luscious, moist lips are slightly parted as if to let out a sigh. What didn’t she have a secret to tell us?

The girl with the pearl earring Painted by Johannes Vermeer circa 1664-1667, is one of the best bust portraits in the world. By the purity of its composition, but also by its atmosphere. Nicknamed the “Mona Lisa of the North”, this energetic painting, kept at the Mauritshuis, in The Hague, is above all riddled with mystery.