If you are a fan of the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, you have probably seen his “Girl With a Pearl Earring” many times. But have you seen it in 3D?
The Hirox 3D digital microscope allows you to see painting at 4.4 microns per pixel, creating a panorama of 10 billion pixels that you can magnify up to 700 times. It’s like you’re holding it in your own hands, said Abbie Vandivere, head of The Girl in the Spotlight project, in a presentation.
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The painting is known as tronie, the representation of an imaginary figure (not a portrait) with an exaggerated facial expression, in this case an intimate look from a girl wearing a turban and a large pearl earring. The investigation revealed the different layers that Vermeer used to build the painting: first the girl’s face, jacket and collar and, finally, the blue headscarf and the pearl earring. The Dutch painter used high quality overseas for the head scarf, which Vandivere said was more valuable than gold in the 17th century. Macro X-ray fluorescence scanning and microscopic examination revealed lashes that are no longer visible – as well as a second highlight on the pearl that was not painted there, but fell like a splinter of paint from elsewhere.
All of this information allows Mauritshuis, the Dutch museum that houses the painting, to take better care of and restore the painting in the future, and for the public to better understand the “Girl”.
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“Our scientific examination brought us closer to Vermeer and the girl than ever. Combining and comparing different scientific technologies provided far more information than a single technology would have done on its own. A girl with a pearl earring is a more personal image than previously thought, ”said Vandivere in a statement.
Called “master of the light”, Vermeer’s work captures the sparkle in your eyes, the sparkle in your lips and the sparkle in the pearl, as well as the captivating mystery that remains unsolved: is she turning to talk to you or walking away from you?
“The fact that it is still a mystery keeps people coming back and keeps it lively and refreshed,” said Vandivere. “It is good that some mysteries remain and everyone can speculate about it. This allows people to personally interpret the girl. Everyone feels their own connection with the way she meets their eyes. “
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