And servants in wealthier Netherlands households were treated as members of the family, taking meals with each other, and sharing in the household chores since the running of a household was truly labor intensive in that time. In this period, after marriage, a woman kept her own name, not taking that of her husband. The idea that women in the Netherlands were subservient, timid creatures is also absurd. Vermeer, who paid such careful attention to detail that his paintings often took two or more years to create, is unlikely to leave such an important detail to last minute happenstance. Again, the author claims that this elaborate headdress was accidentally arrived at when another head covering came apart. And the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is wearing a Turkish style Turban, common in many "tronie" paintings of the day since it allowed the artist an opportunity to show off an ability to paint fabric folds and also to use bright shades of color. And not only Vermeer! Rembrandt, Gerard ter Borch, Gerrit Dou, Bartholomeus van der Helst, and on and on. Many of Vermeer's other portraits show woman with beautifully coifed heads, often displaying jewels or other decorations in their hair. The author would also have us believe that a head covering was required of a proper Dutch woman. The Dutch of this time were wild for art and even the most humble homes had paintings on the walls. Dutch guilds and organizations of every kind, from university professors to doctors performing dissections to the city militias engaged in fighting Spain for their independence had their group portraits painted. Most families who could afford to have portraits painted, did so and hung them proudly in their homes. Tracy Chevalier would have us believe that having a portrait painted was some kind of disgrace in the 17th century Netherlands. However, even in this imaginary space, an author must at least be careful not to write a tale so wildly at odds with what we know about this particular artist and this particular time in Dutch history.
Since we do not know who the subject is or whether this was an actual portrait done for a paying client or a so-called "tronie", a painting possibly done from a real model but created for sale on the open market, the author has a relatively free hand to let her imagination drive the narrative. The idea of telling the tale of the creation of this masterpiece from the point of view of the subject is very intriguing. I thought that the "Girl with a Pearl Earring" would make for light listening on the flight over and also as a pleasant book to listen to while strolling along the canals of Amsterdam. I also listened to the marvelous author narrated book by Russell Shorto, "Amsterdam: A History of the World's Most Liberal City." Finally, I read three mystery novels by Janwillem van de Wetering and one absolutely stunning novel, "The Assault", by one of the Netherlands most beloved authors, Harry Mulisch. In preparation for my trip, I read two very good books on the art of the Dutch golden age and several others including two on the life and art of Rembrandt and one about Van Gogh. During this second visit, I planned to learn much more about Dutch art, history and culture. My interest in this country began with a first visit in 1983 when I visited the Rijksmuseum and saw my first Vermeer painting, and also visited the Anne Frank House, and read her diary. I listened to this book during the first week of a month long trip to the Netherlands.
I will be thinking of this book for a while and enjoying the "small strokes of light" that will come as I decipher the different angles to look at it There was more sensual excitement in the painting of the earring than the backstreet encounter with the boyfriend. Vermeer's wife couldn't get there and neither could the butcher boy Peter. Griet connected with Vermeer at the place where his heart was and her heart was too. And, ``I should have begged him not to ruin me".
And Griet is well aware of her sacrifice, ``he used what he wanted for his paintings, without considering the result''. She is forced to sacrifice her position in the household for art. The book to me was a coming of age story I liked what one editor said, "when Griet was forced by Vermeer to pierce her ears, there is a symbolic deflowering of the young girl. The author's choice of symbolism was quiet and intriguing. This one is hard to put my finger on why I enjoyed it so much.