Abstract
The soft modelling of the skin tones in Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (Mauritshuis) has been remarked upon by art historians, and is their main argument to date this painting to c. 1665. This paper describes the materials and techniques Vermeer used to accomplish the smooth flesh tones and facial features of the Girl, which were investigated as part of the 2018 Girl in the Spotlight research project. It combines macroscopic X-ray fluorescence imaging (MA-XRF), reflectance imaging spectroscopy (RIS), and 3D digital microscopy. Vermeer built up the face, beginning with distinct areas of light and dark. He then smoothly blended the final layers to create almost seamless transitions. The combination of advanced imaging techniques highlighted that Vermeer built the soft contour around her face by leaving a ‘gap’ between the background and the skin. It also revealed details that were otherwise not visible with the naked eye, such as the eyelashes. Macroscopic imaging was complemented by the study of paint cross-sections using: light microscopy, SEM–EDX, FIB-STEM, synchrotron radiation µ-XRPD and FTIR–ATR. Vermeer intentionally used different qualities or grades of lead white in the flesh paints, showing different hydrocerussite/cerussite ratios and particle sizes. Lead isotope analysis showed that the geographic source of lead, from which the different types of lead white were manufactured, was the same: the region of Peak District of Derbyshire, UK. Finally, cross-section analysis identified the formation of new lead species in the paints: lead soaps and palmierite (K2Pb(SO4)2), associated with the red lake.
Highlights
The idealised figure in Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis, the Netherlands, Fig. 1a) conveys a sense of timeless beauty
This paper investigates the techniques and materials Vermeer used to construct the soft flesh tones and facial features in Girl with a Pearl Earring
Building up the skin tones Building up the three‐dimensionality of the face using underlayers Vermeer achieved convincing three-dimensionality in the Girl’s face by having the left side facing the light and the right side in shadow
Summary
The idealised figure in Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis, the Netherlands, Fig. 1a) conveys a sense of timeless beauty. The painting does not depict a specific person, but was intended as a tronie: a character study of a girl dressed in exotic costume [1]. Her skin is soft and smooth, with an impeccable transition from light to dark from one side of her face to the other. 1665–1667, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) These works are of a similar size, were almost certainly painted at around the same time, and are both considered to be tronies [5]. Vermeer developed the techniques to render soft flesh tones around 1665, in paintings such as Woman Holding a Balance (c. 1664, van Loon et al Herit Sci (2019) 7:102
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