It seemed for a while that Vermeer was "in vogue," having two novels about him hit the bestsellers lists at roughly the same time. Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier is a very well researched work that borders on historic fiction while never reading like a biography of Johannes Vermeer.
Chevalier has taken on the fascinating task of giving a life "outside of the frame" to one of Vermeer's painting's subjects. And what she has ended up with is as equal a masterpiece than Vermeer's own work.
Young Griet's father, going blind, has lost his trade as a maker of painted tiles, and she is forced to support the family by becoming the maid for Vermeer, his wife, and their many children. What follows is a battle for superiority in the household, as Griet's own artistic leanings elevate her in importance over the other women in the household and she eventually becomes the subject of Vermeer's painting "Girl With a Pearl Earring."
The care that Chevalier devotes to describing Vermeer's artistic process is demonstrated in the following description of Griet mixing the paints for her master:
"I came to love grinding the things he brought from the apothecary bones, white lead, madder, massicot to see how bright and pure I could get the colors. I learned that the finer the materials were ground, the deeper the color. From rough, dull grains madder became a fine bright red powder and, mixed with linseed oil, a sparkling paint. Making it and the other colors was magical."
This novel, with its stunning prose, will leave you eager to read more of Chevalier's work.
