The girl with a pearl earring

Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring is different from his other works. As in previous paintings, there was plenty of background picture to hug in next to the main focus, but in this particular painting he painted a black backdrop in hopes of enhancing the 3D effect of the figure. But, that isn't the only odd fact about the painting; another thing different about the painting is the turban on the girl's head. Vermeer enjoyed adding an exotic touch to his works, hence the turban. In the seventeenth century, it was quite difficult to find a Dutch girl wearing a turban. Contrasting with his brushwork technique, it seems more like a picture from a camera rather than a painting. It took him two years to finish his oil painting on canvas, making it all the more unbelievable to be just a painting.

The painting was completely restored in 1994 in the Mauritshuis; the 3 dimensional effect, brilliant color, and amazing flesh tone were reflected ravishingly. Special details of Vermeer's painting were also brought to life with the restoration, including the small reflection of light near the corner of her mouth. The highlight consisted of two pale pink spots of paint layered on top of each other. He also painted a similar highlight in his painting, Girl with a Red Hat.

The girl's pearl seemed to hang in space from her ear, non-disturbing. In the original piece, the pearl was portrayed as soft and relaxing, but when restored in 1994 it was found a spot of light painted on the earring glinting from the same light source as on her face. After close examination though, they found it was a flake of paint accidently stuck on. After the removal of the paint flake, the pearl was soft once more.