Out of the blue: Vermeer\u2019s use of ultramarine in Girl with a Pearl Earring

Annelies Van Loon,Wout De Nolf,Katrien Keune,Marine Cotte,Abbie Vandivere,Emilien Leonhardt,Victor Gonzalez,Art Ness Proaño Gaibor,Alessa A Gambardella,Suzan De Groot

doi:10.1186/s40494-020-00364-5

Abstract

Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675) is known for his brilliant blue colours, and his frequent use of the costly natural ultramarine. This paper reveals new findings about ultramarine in the headscarf of Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis). The painting was examined using a range of micro- and macroscale techniques as part of the Girl in the Spotlight research project (2018). Analysis of micro-samples mounted as cross-sections using SEM–EDX and FTIR-ATR showed that Vermeer used high-quality ultramarine in the blue headscarf, based on the relative abundance of bright blue particles of lazurite. Analysis with synchrotron sulphur K-edge XANES suggested that the ultramarine pigment was prepared—at least in part—from a heat-treated lapis lazuli rock. The entire painting was imaged using MS-IRR, MA-XRF, RIS, and digital microscopy to reveal the distribution of materials of the headscarf, and to give more insight into Vermeer’s painting process. The shadow part of the headscarf has a remarkably patchy appearance, due to paint degradation that is probably related to the large amounts of chalk Vermeer mixed in the ultramarine paint in this area. The question was raised as to whether extra chalk was added deliberately to the paint to adjust the handling properties or opacity, or whether the chalk was the substrate of a—now faded—yellow lake. Schematic paint reconstructions were made to investigate the effect of the addition of chalk or yellow lake on the paint properties. The analyses and reconstructions led to the hypothesis that the blue headscarf originally contained a wider range of different blue colour shades: an opaque light blue for the left (lit) zone, a slightly brighter opaque blue for the middle zone, and a deep dark blue-green glaze with alternating blue-green glazing brushstrokes for the shadow zone—now largely compromised by paint degradation.

Highlights

Ultramarine was by far the most expensive blue pigment available in the seventeenth century
This paper focuses on the headscarf of the Girl, : the quality and production of the blue ultramarine pigment, other materials used in the headscarf, the stratigraphy and painting process, and how its appearance has changed over time
Two sample locations were carefully selected from the right side of the blue headscarf based on the preliminary macro-imaging results: a bright blue brushstroke that has some relief— applied in the final stages of the painting process—and a dark blue tone from an adjacent area, applied thinly (Fig. 1b, c)

Summary

Introduction

Ultramarine was by far the most expensive blue pigment available in the seventeenth century. Dutch high-life genre painters, including Vermeer, were especially fond of ultramarine, and its distinctive intense blue colour [1,2,3]. Its presence may even have enhanced the value of a painting for collectors [3]. They used it for blues, and in mixtures: for instance, mixed with yellow lake or lead–tin yellow to make green, or in small quantities. 1665, Mauritshuis) (Fig. 1a), Vermeer used ultramarine extensively in the Girl’s headscarf, and mixed with other pigments in the shadows of her yellow jacket [6,7,8]. The van Loon et al Herit Sci (2020) 8:25

Methods

Results

Conclusion