Portrait - The Girl With A Pearl Earring (after Vermeer, c. 1665)
Medium: Soft Pastels
Portraits done after the Great Masters are done for my learning experience only.
It is possible that this painting by Vermeer is a portrait, in which the subject sat for Vermeer. The girl is wearing an exotic turban, and the way she is gazing at us dreamily over her shoulder copies a style of portrait which was introduced by Titian's "Ariosto". This girl is seen against a neutral, dark background, very nearly black, which establishes a powerful three-dimensionality of effect - a process recommended by Leonardo da Vinci.