When you stand in front of the Girl with a Pearl Earring, the dark background appears to recede, and the Girl herself is – visually and emotionally – closer to you. The contrast between the figure and the background also makes her look more 3-dimensional, and focuses your attention on the brightest areas of her face and earring. Apparently the trend for using dark backgrounds for portraits started with Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), then the convention was adopted by Dutch artists.
‘Wel geblaut, wel gewaut’
Cross-sections and examination under the microscope showed that Vermeer built up the background in several layers. On top of the ground (1), he applied a layer of black (2). They described it as ‘bone black’, but recent analysis at very high magnification using SEM/EDX and FIB-TEM has shown that it contains charcoal black. On top of this, Vermeer painted a green glaze (3): a translucent layer of paint containing indigo (blue) and weld (yellow).
In 17th-century Holland, people used the expression ‘wel geblaut, wel gewaut’ to mean: well-dyed with blue (indigo) and well-dyed with yellow (weld). The combination of blue and yellow to make green was used to dye clothes and fabrics. I’ll discuss indigo along with the other blue pigments in a later blog, so here I’ll concentrate on the yellow colourant: weld.
Signed, sealed, delivered
Vermeer signed the Girl with a Pearl Earring with his monogram ‘IVMeer’ in the top left corner (circled on fig. 13a). The letters ‘IVM’ are in ligature, i.e. they are connected together. Vermeer used several signatures throughout his career, but the placement and style of this one is most similar to the Study of a Young Woman from the Metropolitan Museum.
The signature is almost invisible with the naked eye, but you can see it in the calcium (Ca) map made by MA-XRF.
