Girl With a Pearl Earring

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The novel is narrated in the first person by a sixteen-year-old girl named Griet, who lives in the Dutch city of Delft. The story opens in the year 1664 when Griet is abruptly informed that she will be starting work as a maid in the home of the Dutch painter Vermeer and his wife Catharina. The economic situation of her own family has become precarious since her father, a tile-painter, was blinded in a workplace accident. Her brother Frans has begun an apprenticeship but is not yet earning any wages. Griet is reluctant to take on the position since her younger sister Agnes is angry with her for leaving, and because she is hesitant about working in a Catholic household. She understands, however, that she must help her family, and so she moves into her new home. Girl with a Pearl Earring, oil painting on canvas (c. 1665) by Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, one of his most well-known works. It depicts an imaginary young woman in exotic dress and a very large pearl earring. The work permanently resides in the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. Neumeyer, David (2013). "Film II". In Shephard, Tim; Leonard, Anne (eds.). The Routledge Companion to Music and Visual Culture. Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-62925-6. Griet is increasingly fascinated by Vermeer's paintings. Vermeer discovers that Griet has an eye for art and secretly asks her to run errands and perform tasks for him, such as mixing and grinding colors for his paints and acting as a substitute model. This takes up much of her time, and Griet arouses the suspicions of Catharina, but Vermeer's mother-in-law, Maria Thins, recognizes Griet's presence as a steadying and catalyzing force in Vermeer's career and connives at the domestic arrangements that allow her to devote more time to his service. However, Griet is warned by Vermeer's friend, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, not to get too close to the artist because he is more interested in painting than he is in people. Realizing that this is true, Griet remains cautious.

In his feature film debut, Webber sought to avoid employing traditional characteristics of the period film drama. [4] In a 2003 interview with IGN, he said, "What I was scared of is ending up with something that was like Masterpiece Theatre, [that] very polite Sunday evening BBC kind of thing, and I [was] determined to make something quite different from that ...". Cinematographer Eduardo Serra used distinctive lighting and colour schemes similar to Vermeer's paintings. Chevalier is probably one of the best-known historical novelists of the last ten years, with this book always in the foreground when she is discussed. As far as historical information goes, I think she does okay with it. I had a pretty clear picture of the Netherlands in the seventeenth century by the time I was done with the book (whether or not its accurate or not is another matter), but I felt at times that there wasn't that detail that critics proclaimed about on the cover. October 1962 in Washington, DC. Youngest of 3 children. Father was a photographer for The Washington Post.

Sager Eidt, Laura M. (2008). Writing and Filming the Painting: Ekphrasis in Literature and Film. Amsterdam: Rodopi. ISBN 978-90-420-2457-1. In Film England: Culturally English Filmmaking Since the 1990s, Andrew Higson notes that the film overcomes the novel's "subjective narration" device by having the camera stay fixed on Griet for much of the film. But, Higson says, "no effort is made to actually render her point of view as the point of view of the film or the spectator". [44] When Vermeer takes Catharina’s jewelry and jewelry box to use as props for his latest work, she becomes upset over the idea of her things being left overnight in the studio with Griet. Cornelia hatches a plot to frame Griet for stealing Catharina’s tortoiseshell combs. But when Griet explains the situation to Vermeer, he sides with the maid. Griet’s evident importance to him softens Tanneke’s and Catherine’s mistreatment of her—after all, the whole household depends on his paintings for their support. But it also increases their resentment of her. Susman, Gary (19 September 2001). "Shining stars". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner . Retrieved 23 February 2014. Armstrong, Jennifer (7 May 2004). "Movie on DVD Review: Girl With a Pearl Earring (2004)". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner . Retrieved 2 March 2014.

Chevalier answers all of these questions, and more, by creating a young girl named Griet. After her father, a tile maker, is blinded in a kiln accident Griet is sent to work cleaning in the house of Vermeer in the Dutch city of Delft. She is Protestant and the Vermeers are Catholic, which adds another element of strangeness to the young girl when she moves into the house. Vermeer's wife, Catharina, is about to deliver another baby, and Griet is to help with the household work. But she is also given the job of cleaning the master's studio, where she faces the daunting task of cleaning the objects on display without moving them from their position. The 76th Academy Awards (2004) Nominees and Winners" (Press release). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 29 September 2012 . Retrieved 15 September 2013. The painting that Vermeer paints of Griet is a compromise to Van Ruijven who wanted much, much more. With her direct gaze at her audience and the slight parting of her lips this is an acceptable form of pornography, slightly scandalous, fodder for gossips, but not anything that could bring unwanted attention from the authorities. It gives Griet a shiver to think of her captured innocence resting under the lecherous eyes of Van Ruijven, but better a painting than losing that which she wishes to give her future husband.Ruhlmann, William. "Artist Biography by William Ruhlmann". AllMusic. All Media Network . Retrieved 3 March 2014. A historical fiction novel, built around a famous painting, brought to life by the rich colorful written words from this author's palette. It is beautifully simple, where the unspoken, eye-holding looks that pass between Griet and Vermeer are suspended in air and left to the imagination of the reader. There is so much between the lines in this book one does not discover until many days after finishing. As I write this review, I continue to flip through the chapters and discover more and more that I missed on my initial reading. Papamichael, Stella (July 2007). "Girl with a Pearl Earring DVD (2004)". BBC . Retrieved 22 February 2014. In the spring of 1664, Griet chops vegetables in her family kitchen when her mother ushers in Catharina and Johannes Vermeer. Griet’s father, formerly a master tile painter, has been blinded in an accident and can no longer work. With her younger brother, Frans, already bound to an apprenticeship, Griet must take work as a maid to support her parents and sister Agnes. The next morning, Griet crosses the city. She will live and work at Vermeer’s house, allowed to visit home on Sundays. There, she becomes responsible for acquiring the Vermeer family’s daily meat and doing laundry.

Leitch, Thomas (2009). Film Adaptation and Its Discontents: From Gone with the Wind to The Passion of the Christ. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 978-0-8018-9271-4.Gallo, Phil (3 January 2014). "Conversations with composers: Alexandre Desplat". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved 24 February 2014. However, Griet's most important duty as a maid in this household is the privilege of cleaning Vermeer's upstairs studio. To enter the artist's studio is considered an honor bestowed on few as the painter does not even allow his wife, Catharina, the freedom to enter. In cleaning the studio Griet is instructed that it is to remain exactly as the artist left it the previous day. If an item is touched to dust under it, it must be returned exactly as it was found. Failure to follow the rules set by the painter concerning his studio will cause her to be dismissed and sent away.