Girl with a Pearl Earring

Johannes Vermeer · c. 1665

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Zoom in to the brushstrokes

The pearl earring — what secret lies behind it?

Key Points

A "girl with a pearl earring" painted by a 17th-century Dutch painter astonished the world
The model may have been a real person, or she may have been imagined by the painter
A 1994 restoration deepened the intensity of the girl's gaze
In 2014, controversy arose over whether the pearl was actually a pearl at all

Reading the Work

What's Depicted

This painting is a "girl" painted by Johannes Vermeer, a painter of the Dutch Golden Age. She wears an exotic turban and a large pearl earring. Her eyes look directly at the viewer, as if she has stepped out of the painting into reality to strike up a conversation.

Into the Painting

The background of the painting is a dark blue, while the girl's face and clothing are emphasized with warm tones. Her eyes are rendered with delicate eyelashes, and the earring has a glistening sheen. During restoration it was discovered that the background was originally blue, and this blue makes the girl stand out all the more.

Why It's a Masterpiece

This painting is not a simple portrait but a "tronie" — a head study created through the painter's imagination. Her gaze and earring draw in the viewer, and the work symbolizes the identity of the Dutch Golden Age in art history. The painting has been adapted into literature and film, becoming widely known around the world.

Behind the Painting

Was the pearl not actually a pearl?

In 2014, astrophysicist Vincent Icke argued that the pearl earring may not have been a real pearl but polished tin. He based this hypothesis on the reflected light, the shape and size of the earring. This sparked new debate over whether the pearl in the painting was made of a real pearl at all.

Who was the model?

The model for this painting is unknown. Some have speculated she may have been the painter's daughter, but other scholars call this speculation anachronistic. In 2025, some scholars argued that the girl may have been the daughter of Pieter Claesz van Ruijven, the painter's patron.

The painting has even been the target of a fictional theft

In the 2007 film "St Trinian's," a group of unruly schoolgirls plot to steal this painting to raise funds. This has raised the painting's public profile while also reminding people how significant a cultural heritage it is.

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Further reading · Smarthistory · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Image: Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Last updated 2026-07-17