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| Oil on Canvas, H 48cm (19ins) x W 41cm (16ins), Click picture for bigger image |
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| Private Collection |
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| The original masterwork by Johannes Vermeer of Delft is hanging in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. It is an extraordinary picture. You come upon it suddenly, and it seems quite perfect. You just stare and stare at it. The girl in the painting is wearing an exotic costume, a cloth wrapped into a turban which would not have been typical for a young Dutch girl of the time. Vermeer's use of blue and yellow brings a beautiful harmony to the portrait, which itself may have been idealised to show the girl's innocence. The light is perfect, catching the pearl earring (a symbol of purity), but also reflecting onto the earring from the girl's white collar. The collar also reflects onto her lower cheek. And her parted lips allow the light to pass between them and fall onto the lighter patch of skin we see to the right of her mouth. Spots of light at the edges of the mouth echo the highlights in the eyes. Her eyes engage the viewer. Even painting her I have fallen a little in love. But she is far away and long ago, painted in the later part of the 17th century. If you like this picture, I suggest you read Tracey Chevalier's fictional account of the painting of it, in Delft in perhaps 1670, and watch the film that was made of her book. |
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