Paintings of daily life scenes and even of vulgar environments such as taverns and brothels were common during the Dutch Golden Age.īut, for a painting of a minor genre to be admired as a masterpiece, skill and meticulousness were not enough.
In practice, this hierarchy was applied flexibly in the Netherlands. Therefore, paintings that resulted from a great mental effort ("major genres" such as representations of mythology, classical literature or the Bible) were considered superior to the ones that reproduced images as the painter saw them ("minor genres" such as portraits, landscapes, still lifes, etc.). Here, we explain why: The hierarchy of pictorial genres in the 17th century was rooted in Neo-Platonism, a school of thought which considered ideas as superior to nature. In the case of the Girl with a Pearl Earring, clothing and accessories are key. They showcase what a particular painter is capable of producing, often by including challenging elements such as exaggerated facial expressions or exotic clothing and accessories.
Tronies give painters the opportunity to condense the best of their technique into a single work. It is the painter who must be identifiable. In a tronie, the emphasis shifts to the painter. The portrait reflects the sitter’s features and, although it may contain accessories or allegorical elements, the sitter must remain identifiable. In a portrait, the emphasis falls on the sitter. A tronie is a type of painting which represents a person but differs from a portrait. The Girl with a Pearl Earring is a tronie that represents a young woman wearing a turban and an exceptionally large pearl earring. Along with Amsterdam, Haarlem, Leiden, and Utrecht, Delft was one of the main artistic centers in Holland. At that time, Holland was part of the Dutch Republic, a prominent maritime power made up of seven Calvinist provinces that had seceded from the Spanish Empire as a result of The Eighty Years’ War. Therefore, the painting corresponds to the Dutch Golden Age, a period of economic, scientific, and artistic prosperity spanning almost the entire 17 th century. He painted the Girl with a Pearl Earring around 1665 (scholarly estimations range between the years 16). Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter born in Delft in 1632 and deceased in the same city in 1675. 1665, Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands.
It has been the subject of several fictionalizations, including Tracy Chevalier's 1999 novel "Girl With a Pearl Earring: A Servant's Life, a Master's Obsession, a Matter of Honour" and its 2003 film adaptation, both of which featured the Vermeers' maid as the subject.Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, c. Speculation about the identity of Vermeer's model has extended beyond the history and art realms and into the realm of fiction. But Binstock suggests the painting was actually painted in 1670 when Maria was 16 years old. "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is dated 1665, and Maria was born in 1654, meaning she would have been just eleven years old at the time, which seems unlikely. Journalists Jean-Louis Vaudoyer and Lawrence Weschler, as well as Baroque and Renaissance art specialist Benjamin Binstock, have supported the theory that Maria was the "Girl with a Pearl Earring." Binstock put his case forth in a 2013 article for Slate, in which he pointed out that the recurring figures in Vermeer's works include members of his immediate family, including his wife and daughters, and even the family maid.