Girl with the Pearl Earing

Johannes ‘Jan’ Vermeer (1632-1675), one of the most admired of all Dutch artists, was born in Delft and baptized there on October 31, 1632 -- the exact date of his birth is unknown. Public records afford historians what little facts are known about Vermeer’s life – in many ways, Vermeer is as mysterious and enigmatic as the subject of one of his best known works: “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, sometimes called ‘the Dutch Mona Lisa’.

Vermeer was a respected member of the painters' guild in Delft, but he left no journals, nor was much written about him during his life, and he produced relatively few works for a small circle of patrons. He remained in relative obscurity until the latter part of the nineteenth century, and it is the 35 or 36 paintings generally attributed to him that reveal most of what is known about the artist himself. Many of his works portray figures in interiors, often with the same furniture and decorations appearing in various arrangements; he favored bright colors and sometimes used expensive pigments, with a preference for blue and yellow. His application of paint reveals extraordinary technical ability and time consuming care, and his works are admired for the sensitivity with which he rendered effects of light and color and for the poetic quality of his images. Since the rediscovery of his work Vermeer has inspired not only other painters, but books, movies, and songs. 

 Girl with a Pearl Earring (detail)
Art Print
By Jan Vermeer