Girl with A Pearl Earring (Dutch: Het meisje met de Parel) was made by Holland painter Johannes Vermeer in the 17th century. The painting took the pearl earrings worn by the girl as the focus which was preserved in the Mauritshuis in Hague. This was a small painting, not much larger than eight-paper. The paints had been cracked, but such a seemingly small painting appealed a lot of men of literature and writing and visitors. What shocked their hearts? It was the protagonist – a girl with a pearl earring.
The girl’s glimpse seemed to intake the viewer’s soul. Vermeer used the entire black background in this painting, and made a strong three-dimensional effect. The black background showed the charm of girl’s image, making her like a beacon in the dark, its brightness dazzling the eyes. The girl leaned in the body and turned to stare at us with her mouth slightly open as if saying anything. Her eyes showed strong feelings, whose head slightly leaned to the left as if lost in thoughts. The girl wore a chastity brown coat, forming a distinct color contrast with white collar, blue headscarves and lowered lemon color cloth.
Johannes Vermeer used ordinary, pure color and limited color range in the painting, then used levels and shadow effect. Another remarkable place of this painting was the teardrop-size and vague pearl earrings worn by the girl, which was the punch line of the whole painting. Pearl in Vermeer’s paintings usually was a symbol of purity. Critics thought that this painting was likely to be made before the girl’s marriage eve. The girl’s temperament was extraordinary and she stared at the painter with no distraction. Seeing this painting, the viewer can be easily melted in the affectionate gaze. Holland art critic Gore Skei Jerzy de thought this was Vermeer’s finest works, which was the “northern Mona Lisa”. The charm of The Smile of Mona Lisa lied in her secret. No one knew exactly why this woman could emanate such a quiet smile, and artists were in what mood to draw such works.
Since the production of this painting, the world people marveled at the girl in the painting: brightness changes of soft clothing lines and earrings, especially girl’s side back, wanting to speak, but saying nothing, only the smile of Mona Lisa could be comparable. The girl’s true identity as well as Mona Lisa was a historic relic mystery. The Girl with A Pearl Earring was known as the northern Mona Lisa.