Researchers reveal secrets of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring

By Imane Rachidi

The Hague, Apr 28 (efe-epa).- A scientific study of Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring has revealed a number of secrets about the mysterious young woman on the canvas.

The work as it is known to the world today shows the model, who may have been a product of the Dutch artist’s imagination, with barely visible eyelashes sitting in front of a dark space.

But a study published on Tuesday has found she was originally painted with brown eyelashes sitting in front of a green curtain.

The 1665 painting has captured people’s imaginations for generations and has featured in a number of images, books and films.

This has largely been because so little is known about the woman seen in the work, experts still do not know if she ever existed or if Vermeer made her up.

A unique collaboration of international researchers tried to find out more about the painting using state-of-the-art technology, such as non-invasive imaging techniques.

Martine Gosselink, director of the Mauritshuis gallery in The Netherlands where the painting is housed, said: “Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of the most famous paintings in the world.

“Two years ago an international team of researchers from various museums and institutions examined Vermeer’s masterpiece.”

She added that the painting was not a complete mystery and had already been examined in 1994.