Who was the girl with the pearl earring?

(This article is published by Pie Magazine)

Here is the face that has haunted art critics and viewers for the last two hundred years. Since this painting’s rediscovery in 1881 by Arnoldus Andries des Tombe at an auction at The Hague, it has continued to invite speculation and intrigue. Very little is known about Johannes Vermeer’s masterpiece, not even the year in which it was painted, although it is estimated to have been around 1665. The sheer mystery of the work only adds to our curiosity and is one of most unanswered questions in art: Who

‘The Girl with a Pearl Earring’ by Johannes Vermeer.
She hangs at the Maurithuis, Holland.

There is a lot of debate amongst scholars; many believe that it was Vermeer’s eldest daughter Maria who would have been around twelve when it was painted. One critic remarked that ‘only a father can paint such portraits’ – but despite being a face of innocence, there is something deeply sensual about the painting; notice how she looks over her shoulder with large enticing eyes, her lips slightly parted and wet. Others suspect that she was Catharina, the wife of Vermeer, who sat for many of his paintings, whilst others argue she was the daughter of Vermeer’s patron, Pieter Van Ruijven. In her novel, ‘The Girl with a Pearl Earring,’ Tracy Chevalier has cast her as Griet, the family servant who Vermeer was captivated by and entices to sit for a portrait.

The subject is open to our fictitious imaginings but it may well have been that the girl was a figment of Vermeer’s own imagination. The turban she is wearing, a fashionable prop in the fifteenth century, evokes the exotic life of the Middle-East and appears to be made of silk as it reflects the light. The earring is considered too big to be an actual pearl but the way it catches the light gives the illusion of a pearl. Pearls were often seen as symbols of virtue and fidelity in Dutch symbolist paintings so perhaps Vermeer has tried to create the ideal woman. Perhaps the girl never existed. Perhaps it is her illusion which haunts us.

The way in which she is painted, the techniques Vermeer uses, continues to baffle art critics and viewers as it has for centuries. It is almost impossible to follow Vermeer’s brush strokes or work out his technique and again this adds to the mystery of the painting. The dark background gives the flesh vibrancy and the three primary colours, yellow blue, and the hint of red on the lips, makes the subject stand out. Vermeer brilliance lies in the way in which he captures the light, draws our eye to certain spots on the painting: the moisture of the girl’s lip, the shine of her earring and the gleam in her eye. It is the tenderness in her gaze which suggests the connection between herself, the painter and the viewer. Her warm and welcoming eyes invite us to come and know her. Once she has looked at you, you cannot forget her.

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• AIMEE COATES
• ART
• JOHANNES VERMEER
• PAINTING
• THE GIRL WITH A PEARL EA