The Pearl In This Painting Is Not A Pearl

The Pearl In This Painting Is Not A Pearl Her face has been reproduced more than any other in Dutch art. She has been called the Mona Lisa of the North. And almost nobody who looks at her knows what they are actually looking at. Three things about Girl with a Pearl Earring are almost never mentioned. Nobody knows who she is. There is no record — no name, no commission, no letter, nothing. The earring is almost certainly not a pearl. The 2014 scientific analysis found it too large, too bright, too opaque. Most likely painted glass. And the background is not black. It was originally a deep luminous green that oxidized over three hundred and fifty years into the void we see today. Vermeer designed her to be unidentifiable. He succeeded beyond anything he could have imagined. Hidden Canvas — Art holds secrets. We find the answer.