Ever since the climate change activists “Just Stop Oil” attacked the Girl with a pearl Earring, many people are begging to know who the famous painting girl in the world is, and the story behind the Johannes Vermeer’s work.
A climate activist glued his head to the world-famous “Girl with a Pearl Earring” painting at a museum in The Hague thankfully the artwork was not damaged as a result of the glass shield.
Girl with the pearl earring by Johannes Vermeer
People from all over the world travel to The Hague to see Johannes Vermeer ‘s Girl with a Pearl Earring in person. Or they dream of doing so. They buy posters, fridge magnets and socks with her image. They put her on their computer desktop, watch the movie with Scarlett Johansson, and read Tracy Chevalier’s book. Or dress up as a Girl .
The most famous girl in the world
But why is she so famous? We don’t know exactly either. We have a suspicion, but we cannot fully explain it. And maybe we don’t want that either – a little mystery suits the Girl
Girl with a pearl earring vandalized
Everyone’s own Girl why is the girl with the pearl earring so famous
All world famous works of art have one thing in common: they are very well made. The same goes for the Girl . Just look at the light that Vermeer painted. It falls gently on the girl’s face, makes her eyes sparkle and the pearl shine. Or take the bright colors for that very dark background: the fresh blue of her headscarf, the greenish yellow of her jacket, the red of her lips.
Vermeer painted the girl without hard lines. We call that sfumato , from the Italian word for smoky. The effect is that all kinds of details are missing, such as the hook of the earring – Vermeer didn’t paint that at all. And where does her nose meet in her cheek? So you see more than Vermeer painted. Your brain does this so subtly that you don’t even notice it. But because of that, everyone sees something different and we all have our own Girl.
Why was the girl with the pearl earring considered obscene
We don’t know who the girl is who modeled for Girl with a Pearl Earring . But we know quite a lot about the painting itself, because we have conducted extensive research into it in recent years. We used the most modern techniques for this. This is how we found answers to the question of how Vermeer painted the Girl . What pigments did he use and where did they come from? Did Vermeer make a sketch before he started painting? And what about that dark background?
Girl in the Spotlight – Visual effects
Research was carried out for two years by a team of internal and external experts. The management was in the hands of one of the restorers of the Mauritshuis: Abbie Vandivere. She can tell you all about the investigation into the Girl.
Get to know the girl better?
Did you feel like getting to know the painting better and zooming in on all kinds of details? Look and read more about the Girl here.
Who is that girl?
Vermeer did not paint a portrait, but an idealized girl’s head. A girl from Delft probably served as a model for this, but Vermeer painted her with a headscarf as Dutch women did not wear at the time. That made the painting extra special to see. Vermeer turned his model into a kind of supermodel. In the 17th century, these kinds of paintings were called a ‘tronie’.
Novel girl with a pearl earring
The fun of such an anonymous girl is that as a viewer you can think for yourself who she is. What is her origin? What kind of work does she do? What is she worried about? What dreams does she have? You can fill it all in yourself. The most famous story about this girl is by Tracy Chevalier. She wrote Girl With a Pearl Earring and named the girl Griet. The book led to a beautiful movie with Scarlett Johansson.
Pearl – Spiderfish
Spinvis was inspired by The Girl and wrote the song “Pearl”. It was quite exciting to make a song about such an iconic painting: “It makes sense to write a song about it. But I also recoil a bit, because it is such a large and famous work”
The girl as a role model
Vermeer’s Girl appeals to many people. She inspires them to look and look even better. To reading, fantasizing and daydreaming. And to make – a lot of people get creative from the Girl. She inspires paintings and graffiti, love songs and portraits, embroidery and party cakes. If the Girl were a girl of flesh and blood, you would think that everyone is in love with her. Find out why Janice Deul is so attracted to this iconic painting
We are very happy with all those different works of art based on our Girl . Whether created by world star Beyonce or by your little nephew, you can make her even more special with your creativity.
Were you also inspired by the Girl ? Or have you seen a special version of the Girl ? Let us know, for example by sharing a photo on social media and using the tag #mygirlwithapearl. We are looking forward to!