The girl with the pearl earring

One of the world's most iconic paintings is in the Mauritshuis: The Girl with the Pearl Earring. The painting was created by Johannes Vermeer, one of the Netherlands' most talented Golden Age artists. It hangs here in the Mauritshuis, a beautiful 17th-century building that once served as the home of Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, governor of the Dutch colony in Brazil.

The Girl with the Pearl Earring is famous for her mysterious smile and the way the light falls on her face. Vermeer painted her in 1665-1667 and the painting was later admired by several celebrities, including the French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The girl in the painting has not been identified, but some experts believe she may have been a relative or maid of Vermeer.

Johannes Vermeer was a painter from Delft and is considered one of the greatest painters of the Golden Age. He mainly painted everyday scenes from the lives of the Dutch bourgeoisie, but did so with unparalleled precision and a subtle sense of light and colour. Vermeer died at the age of 43, leaving behind only a limited number of paintings, including The Girl with the Pearl Earring.

The painting is famous not only for its beauty, but also for its value. One of the most expensive paintings in the world, it was estimated to be worth more than $200 million by 2021. But it is not just its financial value that makes The Girl with the Pearl Earring so special. It is a painting that has inspired and touched countless people over the past centuries.

The painting has a remarkable history of underestimation and rediscovery. In 1881, it was sold at auction in The Hague by art expert Arnoldus Andries des Tombe for just 2 guilders and 30 cents. When des Tombe bought the painting, it was not known that it was a work by the famous painter Johannes Vermeer.

It was only in the 20th century that the painting was rediscovered and recognised as a masterpiece by Vermeer. In 1902, after the death of des Tombe, he donated part of his art collection, including the Girl with the Pearl Earring, to the Mauritshuis. Since then, the painting has become one of the museum's best-known and best-loved works, with an almost mythical status in the art world.

In 2006, The Girl with the Pearl Earring was voted the most beautiful Dutch painting of all time a Trouw election. It is not hard to understand why. The painting is timeless and fascinating, and it is an example of how art can help us see the world in a new way.

Unfortunately, in 2022, the painting also faced an action that was less positive. On 27 October that year, a group of climate activists glued themselves to the glass of The Girl with a Pearl Earring and smeared themselves with red liquid to protest against the use of fossil fuels. Fortunately, the painting was well protected and suffered no damage. After a trip to the Rijksmuseum in spring 2023, the painting is now back at the Mauritshuis.