Girl with a Pearl Earring is an oil painting by Dutch Golden Age painter Johannes Vermeer, dated c. 1665

Vermeer's art: the enigma of "Girl with the pearl earring"

Discovering the mastery of Johannes Vermeer and the allure of his iconic painting in Amsterdam

Orsolya Antoni
12 September 2024

In 2023, my good friend and I had the pleasure of seeing the Vermeer exhibition in Amsterdam. We had a lot of fun while queuing up to buy the tickets, and we met a few very unique and interesting people. Among them was an 85-year-old Brazilian man, a former musician who now spends his time traveling the world. He had a special promise to keep for his granddaughter—a visit to the Vermeer exhibition in Amsterdam. His story was fascinating, and it made us wonder about the connection he saw between his life, his music, and Vermeer's art. This encounter, along with the excitement of seeing Vermeer's art up close, made the experience even more memorable.

Johannes Vermeer. View of Delft, 1660–61. Oil on canvas. 39 x 46 inches. Mauritshuis, The Hague.

Vermeer Fever

Michael White

ISSUE 118

1.

THE TIMES called it “the exhibition of the century” and—although I have traveled for years to see and write about Vermeer—it was also the exhibition of my life. For those who were not lucky enough to snag one of the coveted golden tickets, as well as for those who were, I’ll try to explain. But I can’t emphasize enough the sheer impact of the show. Many reviewers have felt the same, including the painter Jonathan Janson, whose lifelong contribution to Vermeer studies includes running the beloved website Essential Vermeer. Immediately after his own visit, Janson posted: “I was overwhelmed, and two weeks later I’m still having a very hard time processing it.” Helen Kirwan-Taylor, writing in the Sunday Times, described feeling the same way and identified it as Stendhal syndrome—a “psychosomatic episode” in response to viewing art. I’m happy to learn there’s a term for how I feel, two weeks after my own visit.