Girl with a Pearl Earring
Oil painting on canvas • Johannes Vermeer
Style & Movement
Dutch Golden Age / Baroque
Medium & Technique
Oil on canvas, utilizing delicate glazing, subtle blending, and precise highlights to create luminosity and texture.
Creation Period
c. 1665
Dimensions & Format
44.5 cm x 39 cm (17.5 in x 15.3 in), vertical portrait format
Subject Description
A tronie depicting a young girl wearing an exotic turban and an oversized pear-shaped pearl earring, looking over her shoulder toward the viewer with parted lips against a flat, dark background.
Condition & Value Assessment
Condition Assessment
Museum-grade conservation condition, housed permanently in the Mauritshuis, exhibiting stable historical stabilization.
Estimated Market Value
Inestimable / Not for sale (Estimated institutional value exceeds $100,000,000 USD)
Auction Estimate
Not applicable as the work is held in a permanent public collection.
Provenance History
Donated by Arnoldus des Tombe to the Mauritshuis in The Hague in 1902, where it has since resided.
Art Historical Significance
Considered one of Vermeer's absolute masterpieces and a pinnacle of Dutch Golden Age painting, often referred to as the 'Mona Lisa of the North'.
Notable Features
The luminous depiction of the pearl created with just a few swift dabs of white paint, and the striking ultramarine and yellow turban.
Condition Issues
Historic fine cracklure and previous minor restorations typical of a 17th-century canvas, fully stabilized.
Conservation Recommendations
Strict climate-controlled museum environment with specialized low-lux lighting and continuous monitoring.