Girl with a Pearl Earring c1665

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Girl with a Pearl Earringc1665

• Johannes Vermeer
• 1632-1675

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How do art works become famous?

• The quality of the painting itself Vermeer is
  seen as one of the best artists of his time
• Another way is through scarcity only 34
  paintings have been authenticated as being by
  Vermeer
• Some art works, artists and periods have been
  written about frequently where others have not.
  What reasons might there be for this?

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And in the case of this painting..
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• a book and a film which focus on the work,
  contribute to its being so well known.

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• Paintings which share particular subject
  matter/style/purpose are often grouped.
• What groupings or categories of paintings can you
  think of?

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What category might this painting fit into?

• What might be the purpose of this work?
• Consider the title as a clue.

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• Could it be a portrait?
• What well-known portraits do you know?
• What are the characteristics of a portrait?
• Does this work fit them?

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• It is what is known as a genre painting in
  art, this would be of some phase of everyday life
  eg domestic interiors, village scenes etc

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• This, then, is a generic painting of a head, for
  the viewers delight.
• Such paintings often involve some theatricality
  here, for example, the subject wears a
  turban-type headdress which would not have been
  the norm for a young Dutch girl whose headdress
  would have been much more modest and plain.

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• The subject makes eye-contact with the viewer.
  What effect does this create?
• Commentators have said there is a sense of
  immediacy in this work. How is this created?

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• What effect does the dark background create?
• What direction does the light in the work come
  from? How can you tell?
• What effect does this directional type of
  lighting create? If it had been lit more
  brightly, how would the effect have changed?

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• What can you say about the way the paint has been
  applied (the brushwork) and the effect this
  creates?
• Note
• the craquelure (network of fine cracks) is the
  result of shrinkage of paint and ground over time

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• Why do you think the painter has added the pearl
  earring?

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A useful mnemonic for art analysis

• PC FILMS
• P - paint application/purpose
• C - colour
• F - form
• I - influences
• L - light/line
• M - medium/method
• S - space