
Girl with a Pearl Earring
1665 · Mauritshuis, The Hague
Not a portrait of anyone in particular but a tronie, a study of a type, which somehow made her the most looked-at girl in art.
★ 8.6

Not a portrait of anyone in particular but a tronie, a study of a type, which somehow made her the most looked-at girl in art.

The old painter holds his brushes and palette, and behind him two large arcs are drawn on the wall that nobody has explained.

The scales in her hand are empty and perfectly level, and the painting on the wall behind her is a Last Judgment.

One child hugs her presents while a boy howls because his shoe held nothing but a birch rod, and the grandmother beckons with a secret.