DISCOVERART

Johannes Vermeer

Girl with a Pearl Earring

1665
44.5 × 39 cm (17.5 × 15.4 in)

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In the collection of Mauritshuis, The Hague — check current display status with the museum.

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Discussion · 4

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VOICES FROM HISTORY

“To see one of his paintings I travelled hundreds of leagues; to obtain a photograph of one, I committed follies. This sphinx of Delft…”

— Théophile Thoré-Bürger, the critic who rediscovered Vermeer, writing in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1866

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Samuel Ortiz · 8d

The earring is two brushstrokes. Two. I paint as a hobby and this fact keeps me humble.

Isabella Fuentes · 10d

Is she turning toward us or away? I have looked at this a hundred times and I still cannot decide. I think that is the whole painting.

L

Leo Marchand · 9d

Toward. The lips are just parting, like she is about to say something. Ask me tomorrow and I will say away.

M

Mei-Lin Chen · 8d

This ambiguity is exactly why she gets called the Mona Lisa of the North. Two paintings, same trick — a face that will not resolve.

More by Johannes Vermeer

Portrait of a Young WomanPortrait of a Young WomanView of DelftView of DelftStudy of a Young WomanStudy of a Young WomanWoman with a Pearl NecklaceWoman with a Pearl NecklaceGirl with a Red HatGirl with a Red HatA Young Woman Standing at a VirginalA Young Woman Standing at a VirginalA Young Woman Seated at the VirginalsA Young Woman Seated at the VirginalsChrist in the House of Martha and MaryChrist in the House of Martha and Mary

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