'Girl with a Pearl Earring' traveling from August 15, 2026

Important message for visitors to the Mauritshuis in The Hague. From August 24, 2026, through September 20, 2026, the Mauritshuis will be closed to the public due to renovations. From August 15 through October 4, 2026, Johannes Vermeer's *Girl with a Pearl Earring* will not be on display at the museum. *Diana and Her Nymphs* is also traveling with her and will be out of the gallery from August 5, 2026. The paintings will be on view at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, Japan, from August 21 through September 27, 2026.

The painting is not a portrait, but a tronie, a fantasy head. Rembrandt popularized this genre in the 17th century. Tronies were produced in large numbers for the open market. Unlike portraits, the models were almost always anonymous. Just like Vermeer's other models, the girl has never been identified. Although his eldest daughter Maria, who was twelve to thirteen years old at the time, is mentioned as a candidate, there is no evidence whatsoever for this. The girl depicted wears a blue turban with a yellow, downward-falling cloth. The turban was painted wet-on-wet and contains shades of a mixture of lead white and ultramarine, with an ultramarine-blue glaze layer over it.

The head covering contrasts with the brownish-yellow jacket with the white collar. The 'pearl', which is not a pearl, catches the eye; a grand creation of highlights and shadows and ragged edges. With two brushstrokes, Vermeer gave the pearl a bright accent of light in the upper left and a reflection of her white collar at the bottom. Given its size and metallic reflection (no light scattering like with a pearl), it is more likely a glass, lacquered 'drop earring' than a natural pearl. The models in *Girl with the Red Hat* and *Girl with the Flute* also wear similar earrings. It seems as if the girl is seeking direct contact with the viewer through her uninhibited gaze. Her moist, accentuated red lips give her a sensual appearance. The background is black, but was originally dark green. Due to the deterioration of color and luster, that layer has darkened over the centuries.

After Vermeer's death in 1675, the inventory of his possessions listed "Two portraits painted in the Turkish style." Girl with a Pearl Earring may have been one of them. Vermeer's patron Pieter van Ruijven was possibly the first owner after Vermeer. Upon his death in 1674, Van Ruijven bequeathed his art collection to his widow. Through his daughter, the paintings came into the possession of Van Ruijven's son-in-law, Jacob Dissius. On May 16, 1696, 21 paintings by Vermeer were auctioned in Amsterdam from Dissius's estate, including three portraits (nos. 38, 39, and 40). These fetched 10, 17, and 46 guilders, respectively. The auction list described one of them as "A Portrait in Antique Clothing, uncommonly skillful."

In 1881, it surfaced at the 'Braams auction' at the Venduehuis der Notarissen in The Hague. It was described in the catalogue as 'Girl's Head, the head wrapped in a cloth'. It was noted that the painter was unknown. Victor de Stuers, a civil servant for the arts, and his neighbor and friend, art collector Arnoldus Andries des Tombe (1816-1902), visited the painting on the viewing day. However, the canvas was too dirty to make an immediate proper assessment, but they did recognize its quality. To avoid arousing suspicion, they agreed that Des Tombe would attempt to acquire it. He bought the painting for the paltry sum of two guilders, plus thirty cents auction commission. During the restoration of the neglected work in Antwerp, after the removal of the yellowed varnish layer in the upper left corner, Vermeer's signature was discovered: IV Meer (Iohannes Vermeer combined). Des Tombe had no descendants and bequeathed part of his art collection to the Mauritshuis upon his death in 1902, including this painting.

During the German occupation of the Netherlands in the Second World War, the painting fell into the hands of Nazi Germany but remained in the Netherlands. From July 1, 1940, after closing hours, it was stored beneath the Mauritshuis in a specially built, bomb-proof art vault. Due to persistent air raids, in April 1941 it was stored in its frame for protection in an art bunker in the dunes near Zandvoort, and on May 11, 1942, it was transferred by train (first class) to the Maastricht art bunker in the Sint-Pietersberg in South Limburg.

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Mauritshuis: https://www.mauritshuis.nl/

Recent and older museum blogs: https://www.freestampmagazine.nl/tag/made-in-holland/