Girl with a Pearl Earring
Johannes Vermeer
Circa: 1665
Oil on Canvas
17.5 in. x 15 in.
Current Location: Mauritshuis, The Hague
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter in his life time. He seems never to have been particularly wealthy, leaving his wife and children in debt at his death, perhaps because he produced relatively few paintings. Since that time Vermeer’s reputation has grown and he is now acknowledged as one of the greatest painters of the Dutch Golden Age.
Johannes Vermeer’s (1632-1975) painting the Girl with a Pearl Earring is sometimes called the, ‘Mona Lisa of the North,’ or the ‘Dutch of the Mona Lisa.’ As the name suggests, the Pearl Earring is the focal point of the painting. The painting was painted in 1665 in Deift, where the artist was born and spent his entire life.
In the northern Dutch Baroque artistic era, commissions from the church were almost nonexistent. Prosperous merchants, bankers and factory owners purchased paintings through commercial galleries. They also commissioned painters directly, and begins the rise of the merchant class. Although Vermeer’s magnificent paintings are very much appreciated today, they were hardly noticed during his lifetime.
What I appreciated about the painting was that no one is sure of the story behind the painting. No one is sure who the subject was, they think it was his oldest daughter Maria or his maid. I like that the painting is analyzed by speculation.
Sources:
maurinesblog 
Hello,
I really like this painting it is a beautiful piece, the colors are amazing and the way the women is painted is just eye catching, the pearl earring was a great touch. You had great info on the artist and yes it is interesting that there is no story behind this painting it makes you wonder.
Overall you did a great job. You had a lot of useful information, and had sources at the end. You presented the title, artist, year, media, and current location, but I didn’t see the place it was painted in back in 1665. I liked that you had background info on the artist; that was nice. You kind of mentioned what you liked about the painting at the end, but I thought you could have gone deeper with that. You successfully mentioned one of the Baroque influence – the rise of the merchant class (good job). I agree with all of what you said about this piece – I did the same painting for this assignment so it was nice to compare it with someone else’s afterwards. I also very much enjoyed the painting.
Hi!
So this is my favorite piece of this time! I used in it my assignment. I love the look in her eyes and the simplicity. You seem to have presented all the information well, accept for where it was painted. Great job though. You seem knowledgeable about the piece, and I like how you said that you appreciate the painting because no one is sure of the story behind it. Great job and good choice! (:
I wrote in the paper that the painting was painted in Dieft:)