I finished this painting a while ago and today I made the time to photograph it. The sitter is my wife, who has modeled for me for numerous paintings.
The title “The girl without the pearl earring” came from a conversation my wife and I were having while I was part way through the painting. I had mentioned to her how I like portraits showing the head turned, looking over the shoulder, like this one. My wife said it reminded her of Vermeer’s “Girl with the pearl earring”, a painting I had reproduced before. “That’s it,” I said, “only this is The Girl without the pearl earring.” She laughed and agreed and the name stuck. It’s a fitting title, considering my love for 17th century Dutch painting. It also fits because of my lack of interest in decoration of any kind. So the fact that she is not wearing a pearl earring makes a statement, however unintentional.
Have a fantastic weekend!
