Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

New Hi-Tech Scans Show What's Really Going On Under The Surface Of Vermeer's Classic 'Girl With A Pearl Earring'

New Hi-Tech Scans Show What's Really Going On Under The Surface Of Vermeer's Classic 'Girl With A Pearl Earring'
Marco Secchi/Getty Images

Researchers have used a battery of modern imaging techniques to get under the skin of Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, but tests have not answered the key question about the famous painting's enigmatic subject.


Martine Gosselink, director of the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague, in an online presentation of new research findings asked:

"Who was the girl?"
“Spoiler alert: No, sadly we didn't find out who this young lady was and if she ever really existed. But we did get a little closer to her."

What the 2018 research project did uncover were details including how the Golden Age Dutch master painted the girl and where he got his pigments, including some from the Peak District.

They even confirmed that the girl had eyelashes and she was painted in front of a green curtain that has faded from view. Such is the interest in the painting, that even the subject's facial hair—or apparent lack of it—is the subject of academic debate.

The eyelashes were not the only hairs researchers found. Microscopic scans also revealed tiny fragments from Vermeer's paintbrushes embedded in the girl's skin.

The painting was placed in a purpose-built glass room in early 2018 so visitors to the museum could watch as researchers and their hi-tech machines took what amounted to a full-body scan of the work completed by Vermeer around 1665, which is sometimes referred to as the Dutch Mona Lisa.

The public will have to wait until they can see the museum's star painting in real life. The Mauritshuis, along with all other Dutch museums and galleries, is closed due to restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus.

The research findings were being placed online, with explanations from those involved.


Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring painting inside a XRF macro-scanner during a research at Het Mauritshuis in The Hague. BART MAAT/AFP via Getty Images

Among them are scans that mapped the maze of tiny cracks that have formed in the paint over the years. They will allow the museum to use this research as a baseline to monitor the health of the canvas in coming years.

Analysis of microscopic paint samples pinpointed where the pigments Vermeer used originated. 

The white lead that forms the earring comes from the Peak District in northern England, the ultramarine blue is ground from lapis lazuli found in what is now Afghanistan, and the red is cochineal, made from bugs that live on cactus plants in Mexico and South America.

Conservator and project leader Abbie Vandivere said:

“It's surprising how much high-quality ultramarine Vermeer used in the girl's headscarf. This blue pigment was more valuable than gold in the 17th century."

Vermeer did not have to scour the world to get his materials – he most likely bought them in his home town of Delft.

Ms Vandivere added:

"[The findings do not just reveal details about Vermeer's materials] but also tell us about Dutch and world trade in the 17th century."

Research also uncovered the order in which he painted the girl on a woven canvas with a grey base layer.

As if she was looking over Vermeer's shoulder while he was working, research with infrared imaging showed that he began composing the work in shades of brown and black.

He then drew the girl's outline in black lines before working from the green background to the foreground: the skin of her face, her yellow jacket, white collar, blue headscarf and finally the quick dabs of white that make up the pearl. Finally, he signed the top left of the canvas.

Ms Gosselink said:

“The girl has, sadly, not revealed her identity, but we have got to know her better."

More from Trending

screenshots from video of JD Vance at Disneyland
@janekleeb/X

JD Vance Called Out For Hypocrisy As He Visits Disneyland With His Family Amid Boos

On Saturday, one-time vehement Trump critic turned MAGA Republican convert Vice President JD Vance went on vacation to Disneyland in blue state California, despite Disney World in red state Florida being closer to Washington D.C. and in the middle of MAGA territory.

The administration of MAGA Republican President Donald Trump is currently engaged in a face-off with California over occupying forces sent by Trump to Los Angeles, which is about 50 miles from Anaheim where Disneyland is located, making Vance's choice even more questionable.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Joe Biden
Mandel Ngan/Pool/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Joe Biden Calls Out 'Liar' Trump Over His Claims About Biden's Use Of Autopen For Pardons

Speaking to The New York Times, former President Joe Biden called President Donald Trump a "liar" over claims that Biden's pardons are "void" because they were done by autopen, a conspiracy theory heavily promoted by Republicans who've already suggested many times that Biden was not mentally fit while in office.

In the final hours of his presidency, Biden issued a series of preemptive pardons, including ones for his relatives, all members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack—such as former Congresswoman Liz Cheney—and several of Trump’s most prominent adversaries, including General Mark Milley and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Keep ReadingShow less
Nancy Mace
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

Rep. Nancy Mace Gets Brutal Reminder On X After She Tried To Praise Trump For 'Rebuilding' The U.S.

South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace was fact-checked by an X Community Note after she tried to praise President Donald Trump for "rebuilding" the country, when she herself voted against President Biden's 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

The IIJA authorized $1.2 trillion in funding and the increased federal spending in recent years has improved U.S. ports, roads, parks, and other services in a country that civil engineers have long said spends too little on infrastructure.

Keep ReadingShow less
black Lamborghini parked in front of a boutique
Danilo Capece on Unsplash

Surprising Things Poor People Learned When Dating Someone Rich

There are life lessons learned through adversity. Some of them are actual survival skills while others are about managing expectations and disappointment.

But some people face very few hardships in their lives due to the power of money.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump at FIFA World Cup trophy presentation
YouTube.com/FoxNews

Trump Ripped After Refusing To Leave Stage For FIFA World Cup Trophy Presentation

President Donald Trump was widely mocked after positioning himself front and center during Chelsea’s trophy lift at the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday.

The event, held at a sold-out MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, saw him greeted by loud boos from the crowd—boos that only intensified as he refused to leave the stage, instead lingering and openly basking in the attention.

Keep ReadingShow less