British art expert Andrew Graham-Dixon believes that he has identified the famous subject of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer's 17th-century masterwork, "Girl with a Pearl Earring" — and it's not who most scholars thought.
Johannes VermeerThe mystery surrounding the identity of the famous subject in Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring has persisted for centuries.
An art historian believes he has finally identified the mysterious subject in Johannes Vermeer’s iconic painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring.
The painting, created in approximately 1665, has long been the subject of speculation and debate, particularly in terms of who the “Girl with a Pearl Earring” really was.
It’s often been suggested that she was Vermeer’s daughter or perhaps his servant. But now, art expert Andrew Graham-Dixon believes he has discovered the girl’s true identity, claiming that she was likely the daughter of Vermeer’s patrons, Pieter Claesz van Ruijven and Maria de Knuijt.
Why The “Girl with a Pearl Earring” May Be The Daughter Of Johannes Vermeer’s Patrons
Johannes VermeerThe home of Vermeer’s patrons, Pieter Claesz van Ruijven and Maria de Knuijt, as painted by the artist himself.
In a new article published in The Sunday Times, art historian and Vermeer expert Andrew Graham-Dixon argues against the popular theories that the girl in the famous portrait was the artist’s eldest daughter, Maria, or one of his servants. Instead, Graham-Dixon took his cues from the fact that Vermeer created the painting for his patrons, Pieter Claesz van Ruijven and Maria de Knuijt.
The girl in the painting is about 12 years old, and while Vermeer’s eldest daughter was born in 1654, and thus would have been roughly the right age to be the model, Graham-Dixon thinks it’s unlikely that he would paint his own daughter in a piece meant for a different couple. Instead, Graham-Dixon hypothesizes that the girl had to be someone important to van Ruijven and de Knuijt.
So, according to Graham-Dixon, “There is only one plausible candidate: their daughter, Magdalena van Ruijven.”
Magdalena was born in 1655, making her about 12 at the time the painting was being created. Meanwhile, her parents were very religious and belonged to an evangelical Christian group known as the Remonstrants. And at 12 years old, Magdalena may have reached the age of baptism and made her commitment to the church, making the painting a way to mark that rite of passage.
“It could have been done either before or after the baptism itself so was probably completed sometime in 1667 or 1668,” Graham-Dixon explained.
The Meaning Behind Girl with a Pearl Earring
Wikimedia CommonsThe identity of the “Girl with a Pearl Earring” has long been a subject of debate and fascination among art lovers.
Graham-Dixon argues that the primary symbolism in Girl with a Pearl Earring is Biblical. What’s more, he believes that there is only one Biblical figure that Magdalena van Ruijven was meant to represent: Mary Magdalene. First and foremost, Magdalena was named after Mary Magdalene, a woman who was revered by the Remonstrants.
In fact, this wasn’t the only time that Vermeer took inspiration from the story of Mary Magdalene in his work for Magdalena’s parents. In one of the first pieces commissioned by her parents, A Maid Asleep, he also drew inspiration from Mary Magdalene’s story, according to Graham-Dixon.
Furthermore, Graham-Dixon believes that this also explains the enigmatic expression on the face of the “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Vermeer was likely depicting the moment in the Bible when Mary Magdalene enters the tomb of Jesus and turns to see his resurrected form, at first not understanding what she’s seeing before quickly realizing the truth.
Is Magdalena van Ruijven Actually The Girl In Vermeer’s Famous Painting?
However, not everyone is subscribing to Graham-Dixon’s theory. Ruth Millington, author of Muse: Uncovering the Hidden Figures Behind Art History’s Masterpieces, told The Daily Mail that the portrait doesn’t depict a single, real-life person, and that art isn’t always biographical.
“Art historians love to claim new discoveries but this theory has been around for quite some time, as I discovered while writing Muse,” Millington said. “Experts such as Dr. Judith Noorman have previously argued that the daughter of Vermeer’s patron was the real Girl with a Pearl Earring. Artists like to keep us guessing, that’s what keeps us coming back to look at Girl with a Pearl Earring.”
After reading about the new theory behind the identity of the “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” learn about the Renaissance painting that sold for $22 million. Then, read about the rare Van Dyke painting that was found in a shed.
