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Video: New secrets of the famous "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Vermeer are revealed
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
"Girl with a Pearl Earring" (c. 1665) is a painting by the Dutch artist Jan Vermeer, one of his most famous works. It depicts a young woman in an exotic dress, with a bright and large pearl earring. The picture has always been full of mysteries, some of which have been solved quite recently. What discoveries did the researchers of the Mauritshuis Museum manage to make?
About the work of Vermeer
During his short cartera, the artist created about 36 works, each of which is invaluable for world painting. Vermeer wrote in the genre popular at the time. The Dutch artist's paintings often represent women of different classes (maids and mistresses of the house), busy with their daily routine. Be it writing or reading letters, weighing scales, playing musical instruments, etc. And what is most interesting, the usual plot of homework was created by Vermeer so skillfully that today it is an integral part of Dutch painting.
Girl with a Pearl Earring
"Girl with a Pearl Earring" represents a young woman in a dark, shallow space. The used black background accentuates and directs the viewers' gaze first to the girl herself, and then to the culminating moment of the picture - the pearl jewel. Dark backgrounds have been widely used in portraiture to enhance the three-dimensional effect of the figure. In Fragment 232 of his Treatise on Painting, Leonardo da Vinci noted that a dark background makes an object brighter, and vice versa.
The girl wears a blue and gold turban and a golden yellow jacket with a visible white collar. This painting, which has become a world masterpiece, stands out sharply from other works by Vermeer. The girl is not busy with anything other than staring at the viewer. The canvas is unique in its simplicity and mystery. The artist seemed to have caught her eye at a fleeting moment when the heroin turned and with wide eyes and slightly parted lips looked at the viewer. The unusual location of the case, the mysterious look, coupled with the mystery of her personality, made many people compare the girl with the earring with Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" (c. 1503-19). However, unlike Mona Lisa, Girl with a Pearl Earring is not a portrait, but a so-called tronier, a Dutch term for a fictional character or type of person. Tronier is not intended to portray a specific person on a private commission.
It was not for nothing that the artist was called the wizard of light. The canvas attests to Vermeer's technical competence. Soft face sculpting and accents on the lips and earring of the heroine demonstrate his skill in the use of light. For example, he brought a young girl's half smile to life with two small white dots on either side of her mouth, reflecting the highlights in her eyes as well. Vermeer also ingeniously used his paints to capture the effect of light falling on her face, her turban and ocher jacket. And, of course, the sparkling magical light of a pearl earring.
Interestingly, the first cost of the painting in 1881 was only two guilders plus a nominal commission. In the current economy, this is less than $ 30. Today Jan Vermeer is highly regarded as an artist. He received a worthy fame as a Dutch master who created many famous and significant works. And "Girl with a Pearl Earring" became one of the most famous works of art at the turn of the 21st century, and also won the title of the most beautiful painting in Holland in 2006 through a popular vote.
Discoveries 2020
The Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague has made amazing discoveries about the famous Dutch masterpiece of the golden age by Jan Vermeer. The canvas was last examined in 1994, and this year saw the use of more modern methods of work and new technological advances, such as non-invasive imaging and scanning techniques, digital microscopy and analysis of paint samples.
The painting was placed in a purpose-built glass room in early 2018 for museum visitors to witness the research process with their own eyes. Thanks to macro-X-ray fluorescence scanning and microscopic examination, scientists were able to prove that Vermeer surrounded the girl's eyes with eyelashes, which eventually disappeared. That is, this is not a fantasy or collective image, but a real girl. In addition, the dark background of the canvas turned out to be not entirely black, but originally depicted a green curtain with draperies. Previously, it was believed that the absence of eyelashes and the shapeless emptiness of the background indicated that Vermeer was painting an idealized face, and not a real person.
But the opinion about the legendary earring, on the contrary, was idealized. The pearl itself is an "illusion" consisting of "translucent and opaque strokes of white paint." Researchers drew attention to how the artist depicted the jewel. Vermeer painted it with just a few drops of pigment on the background to create the illusion of a jewel. The earring has no outline and also no hook to hang it on a girl's ear.
The researchers were also able to identify the sources of the pigments used in this painting. There was white lead from the Peak region in northern England, ultramarine blue from lapis lazuli from modern Afghanistan, red cochineal made from beetles in Mexico and South America. By the way, this blue pigment was more valuable than gold in the 17th century. Thanks to the thriving trade, Vermeer was probably able to acquire these vast materials in his hometown of Delft.
An interesting discovery was made by researchers about the process of Vermeer's work on the canvas. It turns out that at first Vermeer used black lines to outline the composition, and then painted the girl's face and her attire. The blue shawl and pearl earring were the final elements added to the canvas.
The interest in this subject of painting is so great that even eyelashes in front of the model's eyes or their absence are the subject of academic discussion. Yes, many secrets of "The Girl with a Pearl Earring" were revealed by the Hague Museum, but the main secret remains unsolved to this day - the true identity of the already real heroine. Or maybe it's good that some mysteries remain? Each viewer can offer their own interpretations. And from this, the popularity and attractiveness of the canvas only grows every year.
Nothing in this world happens by chance, even works of art are not created from scratch. We have collected 10 curious facts that led to the creation of famous works of art.
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