Who’s that Girl?: Technical Examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring

Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis) is undoubtedly Vermeer’s most iconic painting, but she was not always so beloved. In 1881, the artwork was purchased at auction for only two guilders, plus a thirty-cent commission: about 25 dollars in today’s currency. Now, visitors flock from all over the world to stand in front of her.

A recent examination of the painting using state-of-the-art scientific technologies produced a multitude of data about how Vermeer painted the Girl, where his pigments came from, and how the painting has changed over time.

Abbie Vandivere, Paintings Conservator and Head Researcher for the Girl in the Spotlight project, will explain how the study has resolved some of the painting’s biggest mysteries. Why doesn’t she appear to have eyelashes? Was the background always as flat and dark as it seems? Abbie will compare the Girl to other Vermeer paintings that hang in New York museums. Finally, she will explain how the scientific data was transformed into a digital reconstruction that approximates the original appearance of the Girl, and a four-meter-tall 3D print. You might even have the chance to touch a 3D print of the pearl earring!