Girl with a Pearl Earring

Chevalier, Tracy. Girl with a Pearl Earring. 1999. 233p. ISBN 0-525-94527-X. Available both as FIC CHE on the library shelves and as an audiobook from Overdrive.

Griet’s father is an artist in the Dutch city of Delft in 1664, but an industrial accident costs him his vision. With no breadwinner working, Griet’s family, including her mother and younger sister are in danger of starving. Her father, using his contacts at the artists’ guild, finds Griet employment as a maid in the household of Johannes Vermeer, a locally known painter of portraits and other scenes. Interviewed by the painter, Griet realizes that he is intrigued in the way she arranges the colors of vegetables before putting them in the soup. At sixteen, Griet is not ready to leave her parents’ house, but her income will be the difference between an economically tenuous life and one of hardships and hunger.

Vermeer works slowly, and only produces a few paintings a year. His wife is pregnant with another child, and the household needs help with cooking, cleaning, and the laundry. Yet to Griet, the most important part of the day is when she gets to clean the master’s studio. None of the other family members are allowed there, and as Griet develops strategies for cleaning and replacing items in exactly the same spot, she begins to gain an appreciation for Vermeer’s work. Soon, Vermeer himself discovers that Griet has a good eye for art, and begins having her assist him in his paintings by preparing various colors, and providing small details that enhance the paintings.

But Griet’s presence is not appreciated by Cornelia, the third daughter, who does everything to make Griet’s life miserable. Catharina Vermeer, the lady of the house, is also resentful of this attractive maid. When Van Ruijven, Vermeer’s wealthy patron, notices her, he gets Vermeer to paint a portrait of Griet by herself, so he can possess her. Sitting for a painting, however, is about to create resentment and conflict in the household, as Griet will be overstepping her bounds as a maid to that of a model and confidente of Vermeer. If her role is discovered, it will surely mean the end of her employment in the Vermeer household. Yet, so drawn to art, can Griet resist Vermeer’s lure?

Vermeer only painted 35 canvases during his lifetime, and little is known of his life. But his style of painting and the choice of his subjects now define Dutch art of the time period. Based on the Girl with a Pearl Earing, a real painting by Vermeer, this story imagines who the person in the painting was and what type of life she led in the mid 1600s in Holland.