One of the best-loved paintings in the world is a mystery. Who is the 17th-century model and why has she been painted? What is she thinking as she stares out at us? Are her wide eyes and enigmatic half-smile innocent or seductive? And why is she wearing a pearl earring?
Girl With a Pearl Earring tells the story of Griet, a 16-year-old Dutch girl who becomes a maid in the house of the painter Johannes Vermeer. Her calm and perceptive manner attracts the painter's attention, and he slowly draws her into the world of his paintings — the still, luminous images of solitary women in domestic settings.
In contrast to her work in her master's studio, Griet must carve a place for herself in a chaotic household full of children and run by Vermeer's volatile wife and his shrewd mother-in-law. As Griet becomes part of her master's work, their growing intimacy spreads disruption and jealousy within the household and into the outside world.
Inspiration
I was lying in bed one morning, idly contemplating a poster that hung across from me of the Vermeer painting Girl With a Pearl Earring. I’d had the poster since I was 19 and first discovered the painting. As I pondered the girl's face, I thought suddenly, "I wonder what Vermeer did to her to make her look like that." It was the first time I’d ever thought of the painting as being a portrait of a relationship rather than simply of a girl. After all, she is looking at him, not at us. That drama and conflict in her face is reflecting how she feels about him. I immediately looked up what we know about her, and was delighted to discovered no one knows who she (or indeed any of his models) is. That meant I was free to make up whatever I wanted.
It seemed to me that the girl’s look is intimate; she knows Vermeer well. Some think it’s his eldest daughter, but she would have been just 12 at the time, and this girl seems older. Also, her mouth is open and glistening — a sensual expression that I don’t think a father would have given his daughter. But someone physically close; a servant, perhaps? If it’s a servant, that pearl earring couldn’t be hers. We know that Vermeer had different models wear his wife Catharina’s clothes, so maybe the earring is hers. How would Catharina feel about her husband painting this beautiful girl wearing her earring? Within three days I had the whole story worked out.
Reviews
Chevalier doesn't put a foot wrong in this triumphant work…It is a beautifully written tale that mirrors the elegance of the painting that inspired it. —Wall Street Journal
This is a wonderful novel, mysterious, steeped in atmosphere and yet firmly rooted in the drudgery and denial of a servant's life. It is deeply revealing about the process of painting and is best read with a volume of Vermeer's paintings open beside you — it then becomes a truly magical experience. —Guardian
A brainy novel whose passion is ideas...Chevalier's pattern is complex and revealing. —New York Times
Chevalier is especially adept at character studies: imperious burghers, butchers, biddies and crones. It's as if, after scrutinizing Vermeer's masterworks (and doing the required reading), she began to think and feel like a 17th-century Delfter. —Time Magazine
Chevalier's writing skill and her knowledge of seventeenth-century Delft are such that she creates a world reminiscent of a Vermeer interior: suspended in a particular moment, it transcends its time and place. —New Yorker
Chevalier's imagination adds life to an already brilliant painting in this elegantly developed and beautifully written novel. —USA Today
