Johannes Vermeer's painting shows a young woman looking over her shoulder at the viewer, wearing a blue and yellow turban and a large pearl earring, against a dark background. It is not a portrait of a known sitter but a tronie, a Dutch genre of character study, and the identity of the model has been much debated. Vermeer worked in Delft, and the painting shows his gift for light and subtle colour. It was sold for a very small sum in the nineteenth century and is now in the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Tracy Chevalier's novel and a 2003 film have increased its popularity, and it is sometimes called the Mona Lisa of the North.
Before and after
- 19 August 1662Death of Blaise Pascal
- 1664Construction of Nymphenburg Palace
- 1664Founding of Easthampton
- 1665Construction of Royal Palace of Amsterdam
- 1665Girl with a Pearl Earring
- from 1665 to 1666Great Plague of London
- 6 February 1665Birth of Anne of Great Britain
- from 4 March 1665 to 31 July 1667Second Anglo-Dutch War
- 1666Rise of 'Alawi dynasty
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The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 17th century.