Among Johannes Vermeer's works, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' stands out as his most renowned masterpiece. It defies traditional portrait conventions as it falls into the category of a 'tronie,' a painting featuring an imaginary character. Tronies capture specific types or characters, in this instance, portraying a girl adorned in exotic attire, donning an oriental turban, and showcasing an astonishingly large pearl dangling from her earlobe.
Tell me what you think about it when you see it.
The original can be admired at the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, The Netherlands.
Like the Mona Lisa the young woman in the potrait, her idenity is unknown. Does this add to the painting? If we knew who she was would we look at this with different eyes?
It's said to possibly be his dauther, or a mistress or what they call a, "tronie".
The head of an ideal type, a young beauty in this case. Whoever she is or is not, the young woman in the painting shows natural beauty. Natural beauty comes in many forms that does not require a provacative look but that the essence of the person shines through and captures those that are open to see it.
The painting for me captures this along with the elegance the pearl earring brings. It is subtle her beauty and not over bearing. I've spoke a lot about beauty here lol. Forgive me. "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" comes to mind.
There are moments in our life that others are able to precieve that we are not aware of, when our inner grace cracks the surface of our insecurities and cover-ups, (like make-up, jewlery, etc..) and shows the beauty underneath that we often don't see ourselves or witness.
Find you spark, what brings out your natural beauty.