Jan Vermeer. Girl with a Pearl Earring. c Oil on canvas. Mauritshuis, the Hague, Netherlands. Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
The Author: Tracy Chevalier Born: 19 October 1962 in Washington, DC. Education: BA in English, Oberlin College, Ohio, MA in creative writing, University of East Anglia, Norwich, England, 1994.
Why did Chevalier write about the girl in Vermeer’s painting? I have had a copy of that painting for a long time. I love it because it is so beautiful and mysterious. The expression on the girl’s face is ambiguous – sometimes she looks happy, sometimes sad, sometimes innocent, sometimes seductive. I was always curious about what she was thinking, and one day I wondered what Vermeer did to her to make her look like that. I began to understand that the painting is more than a picture of the girl, but also a portrait of the relationship between the painter and the model. I thought there must be a story behind her look, but when I found out that we don’t know who the model for the painting was, I realized I would have to make up the story myself. publisher&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=on.ted.com-static&utm_campaign=&awesm=on.ted.com_TChevalierhttp:// publisher&utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=on.ted.com-static&utm_campaign=&awesm=on.ted.com_TChevalier
Genre = Historical Fiction A novel that re-creates a period or event in history and often uses historical figures as some of its characters.
Delft
Art in Vermeer’s Time Known as “The Dutch Golden Age” Painting was not considered an art, but a craftsmanship, a way to make a living.
Vermeer, the Painter ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Johannes (yo-haan) Vermeer, or Jan Vermeer, or Johannes van der Meer lived 1632 – 1677 lived in Delft, The Netherlands was one of the “Dutch Old Master” painters little is known about his life only a small number of his paintings have been preserved (31 known) a versatile catalog: painted portraits, landscapes, and everyday scenes or individuals or small groups
Vermeer’s Technique ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ choice & preparation of the support inventing (drawing) dead-coloring (underpainting) working-up & retouching glazing
Vermeer’s Signature
THE CAMERA OBSCURA eer-master-light-camera-obscura-part-4
some paintings mentioned in the novel…
View of Delft Jan Vermeer. View of Delfi. c Oil on canvas. Mauritshuis, the Hague, Netherlands..
Woman With a Pearl Necklace Jan Vermeer. Woman with a Pearl Necklace. c Oil on canvas. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemaldegalerie, Berlin, Germany..
The Milkmaid (Tanneke) Jan Vermeer. The Milkmaid. c Oil on canvas. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands..
Woman with a Water Jug Jan Vermeer. Woman with a Water Jug. c National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. National Gallery of Art. Web. 17 Oct
The Girl With a Wine Glass Jan Vermeer. The Girl with a Wine Glass. c Oil on canvas. Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum, Brunswick, Germany..
Lady Writing a Letter Jan Vermeer. A Lady Writing. c National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. National Gallery of Art. Web. 17 Oct
The Concert Jan Vermeer. The Concert. c Oil on canvas. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA, USA..
The Dutch MONA LISA
Does Scarlett Johansson make a convincing “Girl”?
Griet Vermeer and Griet look at colors in the clouds.
Delft Tiles
Johannes Vermeer
Maria Thins
Pieter: the butcher’s son
Catharina ~ Vermeer’s Wife
Van Ruijven
web sites worth your time… “The Essential Vermeer” web site: Tracy Chevalier’s official web page: The MauritsHuis – Museum at The Hague that houses much Dutch artwork, including Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring =2295