Girl With A Pearl Earring
(Chevalier; Tracy)
Griet, a sixteen-year-old girl, leaves home to work as a servant in the household of the painter, Johannes Vermeer. His household consists of his mother, who rules the roost, his wife, and his four daughters. One of Griet's special duties is to clean the artist's studio. It is a challenging task: she has to clean so that everything remains in the same place and looks exactly the same, only cleaner. Not one thing in the scene can be moved out of place until the painting is finished. Griet tackles this task conscientiously and is favoured by Vermeer. He lets her grind his paints for him, a job she must do in addition to her other household duties. In order for Griet to help Vermeer with the paints more easily, she sleeps in the attic above the studio.
Griet's work in the Vermeer household is a chore. She has loads of laundry and ironing and has to help the cook with the shopping. One of the daughters maliciously makes life difficult for her. Griet finds a friend in the fishmonger at the market. But what really keeps her going is her passion for Vermeer's paintings. She is happy grinding his paints, being in his studio, watching the daily progress of the painting he is working on.
Eventually Vermeer decides to paint Griet. He paints her standing at the window, turning her head over her shoulder to look back at him. However, when the painting is done, he is not satisfied with his work: something is missing. Vermeer finally decides that Griet needs to wear a pair of pearl earrings to make the painting complete. He makes her wear his wife's pearl earrings. The problem is Griet does not have holes in her ears. She pierces her ears with a sharp pin, her earlobes become red and swollen as infection sets in. Griet cries in pain wearing the pearl earrings. Vermeer insists she wears them on both ears although only one ear will be visible in the painting.
The painting is completed and sold to Vermeer's patron. Griet is dismissed from the Vermeer household. She marries the fishmonger. Ten years later Vermeer dies and in his will he bequeaths the pearl earrings to Griet.
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- Fille Avec Une Perle Errant
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- Girl With A Pearl Earring
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