A painting a day · No. 13 of 38 today
Girl with a Pearl Earring
Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675)
c. 1665 · Oil on canvas · Mauritshuis, The Hague
The story
Not a portrait of a real person but a 'tronie' — a Dutch study of a face or a type, often in exotic costume like the turban. Nobody knows who modelled for it.
Look closer
- The pearl is just two strokes of paint: one bright highlight, and a soft reflection of her white collar below. There is no outline.
- Wet highlights on her lips and in the corners of her eyes.
- The blue of the turban is ultramarine, made from ground lapis lazuli — then more expensive than gold.
Did you know
The black background was once a green curtain. The glaze has faded; a study by the Mauritshuis (2018–2020) found traces of it.
Why we can show it
Johannes Vermeer died in 1675. UK copyright lasts for the artist’s life plus 70 years, so even under today’s rules this painting would have been free for anyone to show since 1746. The photograph is a faithful copy of a flat work, which creates no new copyright. We do not store the picture: it comes from Wikimedia Commons each time it is needed. More on this.