Woman with a Pearl Necklace

Johannes Vermeer · 1664

Woman with a Pearl Necklace - Johannes Vermeer

A young woman stands by the window, lifting the ribbons of her pearl necklace and gazing toward a small mirror. Almost nothing else happens, and that is the point: Vermeer fills a quiet morning moment with light, yellow and stillness.

The story behind the painting

Vermeer painted Woman with a Pearl Necklace in oils on canvas around 1664. It shows a young Dutch woman, most likely from an upper-class family, dressing herself with two yellow ribbons, pearl earrings and a pearl necklace. A woman at her toilet was a popular theme among Dutch painters of the time. The same woman also appears in The Love Letter and A Lady Writing a Letter. Vermeer, who lived in Delft from 1632 to 1675, specialised in such interior scenes for middle-class patrons.

What to look for

Light enters from the left, where a drawn-back yellow curtain echoes the lemon yellow of her fur-trimmed morning coat. On the wall hangs a mirror in a black frame, probably ebony, a sign of wealth. A large stretch of bare white wall keeps attention on her. On the table lie a water basin, a comb and a powder brush, and a deep blue cloth gives strong contrast. Under magnification, the fur trim shows many thin layers of gray and white. The canvas measures about 55 by 45 cm.

Meaning and intent

Her gaze is blank, almost vain, possibly toward the window or into the mirror. Interpretations differ: the mirror may suggest vanity or feminine power, or a vanitas reminder of death, and the source notes there is no certain way to decide. The domestic tools may hint at criticism of a young woman's idleness. Some historians speculate that Vermeer used a camera obscura, and he likely used costly lapis lazuli in tiny amounts.

Legacy

The painting belongs to the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin. Fur coats like hers were common in Dutch homes in the mid 1660s, and such furs were recorded in Vermeer's own house in 1676. In the 1981 film Arthur, a version of the picture, called Woman Admiring Pearls, is unwrapped on screen. Vermeer's favourite devices are all gathered here: light from the left, yellow and blue, a woman, a mirror and a heavy curtain.

Did you know?

Wikipedia · Wikidata

About the artist

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675)

woman · genre art · Dutch Golden Age painting · Gemäldegalerie Berlin · window · curtain · chignon

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