Julie Donec

Girl with a Pearl Earring #7

Here is the full image; unfortunately, I couldn't get the shot without an excess of glare. Please see the 'close-up' for more detail on the face. Even though the image has a simplistic look, the position of the sitter has been carefully considered by the artist to create visual impact. He does this by having the model turn her face in the opposite direction to her body. This method of creating an interesting visual tension was employed and well developed by Michelangelo. Study his "Libyan Sibyl" for an example of this technique. Note too, the parted lips. Having the model posing this way was very unusual for portraiture of this period. Almost all portraits would have had the mouth primly closed; the parted lips suggest an underlying sensuality that draws the viewer in. Compare this with the Italian sculptor/architect Bernini's marble bust of his alleged mistress Costanza Bonarelli. The bust portrays a woman "in a moment of disheveled privacy, captured in conversation or surprise. " 1. I think the expression on the young woman's face in 'The Girl with a Pearl Earring' has that same quality. There are approximately 37 known Vermeers in the world today. Out of this group, eleven pictures feature women wearing pearls. In this image, the costume and pearl prop suggest the possibilty that this portrait was originally intended as a 'tronie', or a character image, a form of portraiture very popular at the time. The young sitter's identity has never been fully established. Some say she was a mistress/servant in the Vermeer household, or she could have possibly been one of Vermeer's youngest daughters. Whoever she was, the image is haunting, and is often referred to as the 'Mona Lisa of the North'. 1. Gian Lorenzo Bernini From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia