impression

This painting, Girl with Pearl Earring by Jan Vermeer, has always appealed to me in a very sublime way. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Vermeer was pretty obscure in his own time. If you've seen the film from a year or two ago, you'd get the idea that he was a sort of pet artist kept by a single wealthy patron. I have no idea how historically accurate the film is; probably the people who made it have none either. It was interesting, but really had no effect on my impression of the painting.

The girl is innocence personified; but not. She is sweet, but wise in an indefinable way. She's worldy but still a child. The painting still makes me shudder with its poignant appeal.

Oh - and she has no eyebrows.