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Girl with a Pearl Earring
Jan Vermeer
Jan Vermeer is noted for his genre paintings, “enigmatic scenes of women in their homes, alone or with a servant…” A celebrated painter of his time, Vermeer worked for local patrons in his town of Delft, producing less than forty pieces of work in his time. Even so, he is the subject of Tracy Chevalier’s novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring, a historical tale infused with the possibility of the young girl in the portrait and the story behind Vermeer and the relationships in his life. Chevalier takes the reader into a glimpse of Vermeer through the eyes of sixteen year-old Griet, a maid for the family who later becomes the model in the painting. Though the development of Vermeer’s painting skills and other details of his life are left out of the novel, Chevalier builds on the complexity of the characters and the turmoil surrounding Griet as she goes from being the household maid to ultimately posing for the artist.
Even though Vermeer’s paintings show similarities among them, such as quiet interior scenes, low-key in color, and asymmetrical but strongly geometric in organization, they stand apart due to his use of color, which adds to the clarity and balance of the composition.1 In Girl with a Pearl Earring, the girl is seen before a black background, which adds a three-dimensionality effect. ... There is also contrast of the girl’s brown jacket with the bright white collar against it. Most importantly, she is wearing a pearl earring in her left earlobe, which stands out with its golden sheen against the shadow of her neck.
Approximate Word count = 1344
Approximate Pages = 5.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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