Johannes Vermeer, Girl With a Pearl Earring

One part of this pigment analysis is based on the work of the scientists at the Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage and FOM Institute for Atomic and Molecular Physics (AMOLF) Amsterdam (1).

The other part is based on the research project of Mauritshuis (3) collaborating with a team of internationally recognized specialists working within the collaborative framework of the Netherlands Institute for Conservation, Art and Science (NICAS), including Rijksmuseum, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), University of Amsterdam (UvA) and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE).

1 Red lips: vermilion and carmine (cochineal).
2 Skin: lead white tinted with a red lake and vermilion
3 White of the eye: lead white

4 Blue turban: natural ultramarine
5 Edge of the blue turban: bone black, chalk, very little natural ultramarine, and a little organic red pigment.

6 Yellow sleeve: yellow, brown, and a little red ochre, finely ground charcoal black overpainted with a layer consisting of lead white, finely ground yellow ochre, very little brown ochre, and finely ground natural ultramarine.

7 Highlight in the yellow cloth: lead white, chalk, and black, another layer of black, possibly finely ground charcoal black, and a top layer consisting of lead white and finely ground iron oxide.

8 Dark background: a layer of bone black and charcoal black, another layer containing weld (luteolin), chalk, a little red ochre, and indigo.

References

(1) K. M. Groen, I. D. Van der Werf, K. J. van den Berg, and J. J.Boon, Scientific Examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, in Gaskell, I. and Jonker, M., Vermeer Studies, in Studies in the History of Art, 55, National Gallery of Art, Washington 1998, pp. 169-183.

(2) Abbie Vandivere, Girl with a blog, Mauritshuis

(3a) Vandivere, A., Wadum, J., van den Berg, K.J. et al. From ‘Vermeer Illuminated’ to ‘The Girl in the Spotlight’: approaches and methodologies for the scientific (re-)examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Herit Sci 7, 66 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-019-0307-5

(3b) Delaney, J.K., Dooley, K.A., van Loon, A. et al. Mapping the pigment distribution of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Herit Sci 8, 4 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-019-0348-9

(3c) van Loon A, Vandivere A, Delaney JK, Dooley KA, De Meyer S, Vanmeert F, Gonzalez V, Janssens K, Leonhardt E, Haswell R, de Groot S, D’Imporzano P, Davies GR. Beauty is skin deep: the skin tones of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Herit Sci. 2019;7:102. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-019-0344-0.

(3d) Vandivere, A., van Loon, A., Dooley, K. A., Haswell, R., Erdmann, R. G., Leonhardt, E., & Delaney, J. K. (2019). Revealing the painterly technique beneath the surface of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring using macro- and microscale imaging. Heritage Science, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-019-0308-4

(4) Vandivere, Abbie, The Girl in the Spotlight research team, Jørgen Wadum, Klaas Jan van den Berg, and Annelies van Loon. “From ‘Vermeer Illuminated’ to ‘The Girl in the Spotlight’: Approaches and Methodologies for the Scientific (Re-)Examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Heritage Science 7, no. 1 (n.d.). doi:10.1186/S40494-019-0307-5.

(1) K. M. Groen, I. D. Van der Werf, K. J. van den Berg, and J. J.Boon, Scientific Examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, in Gaskell, I. and Jonker, M., Vermeer Studies, in Studies in the History of Art, 55, National Gallery of Art, Washington 1998, pp. 169-183.

(2a) Vandivere, A., Wadum, J., van den Berg, K.J. et al. From ‘Vermeer Illuminated’ to ‘The Girl in the Spotlight’: approaches and methodologies for the scientific (re-)examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Herit Sci 7, 66 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-019-0307-5

(2b) Delaney, J.K., Dooley, K.A., van Loon, A. et al. Mapping the pigment distribution of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Herit Sci 8, 4 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-019-0348-9

(2c) van Loon A, Vandivere A, Delaney JK, Dooley KA, De Meyer S, Vanmeert F, Gonzalez V, Janssens K, Leonhardt E, Haswell R, de Groot S, D’Imporzano P, Davies GR. Beauty is skin deep: the skin tones of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Herit Sci. 2019;7:102. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40494-019-0344-0.

(3) Micah K. Johnson, David G. Stork, Soma Biswas and Yasuo Furuichi, Inferring illumination direction estimated from disparate sources in paintings: An investigation into Jan Vermeer’s Girl with a pearl earring, in Computer Image Analysis in the Study of Art, edited by David G. Stork, Jim Coddington, Proc. of SPIE-IS&T Electronic Imaging, SPIE Vol. 6810, 2008.

(4) Wadum, Jørgen & N. Costaras, “Johannes Vermeer’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ De- & Re-Restored, in Restauration, Dé-Restauration, Re-Restauration…” ARAAFU (1995) 163-172. Paris.

(5) Marjorie E. Wieseman, Wayne Franits & H. Perry Chapman, Vermeer’s Women: Secrets and Silence, Yale University Press 2011.

(6) Salomon, N. From Sexuality to Civility: Vermeer’s Women, in Gaskell, I. and Jonker, M. ed., Vermeer Studies, in Studies in the History of Art, 55, National Gallery of Art, Washington 1998, pp. 309-322.

(7) Vandivere, Abbie, The Girl in the Spotlight research team, Jørgen Wadum, Klaas Jan van den Berg, and Annelies van Loon. “From ‘Vermeer Illuminated’ to ‘The Girl in the Spotlight’: Approaches and Methodologies for the Scientific (Re-)Examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Heritage Science 7, no. 1 (n.d.). doi:10.1186/S40494-019-0307-5.

Abbie Vandivere, Girl in the Spotlight Project. Technical examination of the painting by an international team of scientists, conservators, and researchers, March 2018.

Second Canvas: an interactive app by Mauritshuis with high-resolution images of this painting

Essential Vermeer

Janson, J. Girl with a Red Hat by Johannes Vermeer at Essentialvermeer.com