Johannes Vermeer – Girl with a Pearl Earring

Girl with a Pearl Earring is a painting by Johannes Vermeer from around 1665: a young girl in a blue turban, with a long yellow cloth hanging from it, turns her head over her left shoulder towards us, lips slightly parted, while a large pearl-like earring catches the light. The original, oil on canvas, is only 44.5 cm high and 39 cm wide and hangs in the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Our painter paints it by hand in oil on canvas in 8 portrait sizes, from 43 x 47 to 172 x 200 cm, or to your own measurement, and we send you a photograph of the finished painting before dispatch.

Girl with a Pearl Earring – Johannes Vermeer

What does Girl with a Pearl Earring show?

There is no room, no window and no furniture, only the girl against a dark ground. Her body is turned away, but her head comes round over her left shoulder, as if someone had just called her name. She looks straight at the viewer, her lips slightly parted, as though she were about to speak.

She wears a blue turban with a long yellow cloth falling down her back, and a yellow-brown jacket with a white collar. From her ear hangs a large earring that looks like a pearl and catches the light.

Today the background looks almost black. Research in 2018 found that a green curtain once hung behind the girl, and that it has faded to dark over time. That is why the face, the turban and the earring stand out so strongly now.

Who was the girl?

Nobody knows. This is not a commissioned portrait but a tronie: the word the Dutch of the 17th century used for a painted head that was not meant to show a particular person.

There have been several guesses about who sat for Vermeer, but none is proven, so we name no one. That is exactly what leaves room for the viewer: she is nobody’s named daughter or wife, just a face turning towards you.

Why is the painting so famous?

Because of the look. The milkmaid is absorbed in her work and the woman in blue in her letter, but this girl looks straight at us. The simple composition, the strong blue and yellow and the gleam on the earring stay in the memory after a single glance.

Vermeer signed it “IVMeer” but did not date it. It only got its present title towards the end of the 20th century, and a novel and a film made it world-famous. The Wikipedia article sums up the research and the history of the painting.

Where is the original, and how did it get there?

The original hangs in the Mauritshuis in The Hague, inventory number 670. The same museum holds Vermeer’s View of Delft, so you can see both paintings in a single visit.

In 1881 Arnoldus Andries des Tombe bought it at an auction in The Hague for two guilders and thirty cents. It was in poor condition at the time. In 1902 des Tombe left it to the Mauritshuis.

During the Second World War it was hidden in a bunker under the museum, and later in caves near Maastricht. After the war it went back to The Hague, where it still hangs today.

Girl with a Pearl Earring or another Vermeer?

This suits anyone who likes calm faces and few objects: a bedroom, a study, a hallway or a reading corner, anywhere you would like someone to meet your eye as you walk in.

If you prefer quiet work to a direct gaze, choose The Milkmaid, pouring milk into a bowl. A young woman lost in reading in front of a map is Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, and a scholar reaching for a celestial globe is The Astronomer.

The girl hangs in good company: the other famous Vermeer paintings our painters copy by hand are on the Johannes Vermeer page.

How does our painter paint your Girl with a Pearl Earring?

Each of our girls is painted to order, layer by layer, in oil on canvas. The painter first lays in the dark ground and the outline of the head, then builds up the face in several thin layers so that the passage from light to shadow on the cheek stays soft.

Next come the blue turban with the yellow end falling over the shoulder, and the yellow-brown jacket with its white collar. The point of light on the earring goes on last, once everything around it is dry.

Because this is an oil painting reproduction made by hand, you will see brush marks and paint lying in layers on the surface, while a print stays smooth and flat. Like any Vermeer reproduction in oil, it looks different by daylight than in the evening under a lamp.

Which size for which wall?

In short: 43 x 47 or 56 x 64 cm above a bedside table, on a shelf or on a narrow wall, 64 x 76 or 72 x 85 cm above a chest of drawers or a desk, 97 x 106 or 120 x 140 cm above a bed or a sofa, and 135 x 160 or 172 x 200 cm for a tall wall or a staircase.

There are 8 portrait sizes (width x height): 43 x 47, 56 x 64, 64 x 76, 72 x 85, 97 x 106, 120 x 140, 135 x 160 and 172 x 200 cm. The original is small, 39 cm wide and 44.5 cm high. Our smallest size, 43 x 47 cm, is 4 cm wider and 2.5 cm taller, so it stays close to the original’s scale; the larger sizes make the girl the centre of a whole wall.

As a painting for the living room above a sofa, 97 x 106 or 120 x 140 cm works well: the face is then larger than on the original, and her gaze meets you from the doorway. Hang it so that her eyes are roughly at the height of yours.

Can I choose another size or a frame?

Yes. The original is roughly 7 : 8 in proportion, so it transfers well to most portrait sizes without losing the turban, the earring or the white collar at the edge. Send us the width and height you want, and we will reply with a price and a delivery date.

We ship it rolled, stretched on a stretcher bar or framed. The stretching and framing are done by our workshop in Slovenia, as for every other canvas painting we sell. The frame for the girl is picked in our 3D application, which exists only for that choice; a view of the painting on your own wall is a separate service.

A thin black frame picks up the dark ground and leaves all the attention to the face, while a narrow gold frame matches the yellow cloth of the turban.

How and when does the painting arrive?

We start as soon as your order comes in; within 15 to 45 working days the girl is painted and ready to travel. Before dispatch we send you a photograph of the finished painting, and whatever you would like changed, we change.

There are no customs charges within Slovenia and the rest of the EU. Every order is covered by our returns policy.

Girl with a Pearl Earring makes an easy gift: a small size needs no large wall, and almost everyone knows the face. If you would rather let the recipient choose the size, give them a wall art voucher.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I see the original?

In the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands, inventory number 670.

Who sat for Vermeer?

Nobody knows. It is a tronie, a painted head not meant as a portrait of a particular person; there are several guesses and no proof.

Is it a print?

No. Ours is a hand-painted copy in oil on canvas, which the painter starts only once you have ordered it.

How big is the original?

It is 44.5 cm high and 39 cm wide. Our smallest size is 43 x 47 cm, our largest 172 x 200 cm.

Will it suit the wall above a bed?

Yes. The scene is calm and right for a bedroom; above a bed about 160 cm wide, choose 97 x 106 or 120 x 140 cm.

Can you paint it in a size that is not on the list?

Yes, made to measure. Tell us the width and height and we will send a price and a date.

How long does it take?

Between 15 and 45 working days. Before dispatch you receive a photograph of the finished painting.

What used to be in the dark background?

Research in 2018 found a green curtain that has faded almost to black over time.

• Subject: a young girl in a blue turban with a yellow cloth looks over her shoulder at the viewer, a large pearl-like earring shining at her ear.
• Original: c. 1665, oil on canvas, 44.5 x 39 cm, Mauritshuis, The Hague.
• Ours: painted by hand in oil on canvas, in 8 portrait sizes from 43 x 47 to 172 x 200 cm or made to measure.
• Worth knowing: in 1881 it sold at auction for two guilders and thirty cents.