|
|
Elements in the Original Composition |
|
In the original version Vermeer included a musical instrument, probably a lute, which rested upon the foreground chair. It seems to be very similar to the one he had rendered in an earlier painting, The Glass of Wine (left). In a mirror image (right), the instrument and its position are surprisingly similar to that of the Woman with a Pearl Necklace. Vermeer often experimented the different possibilities of what he felt were vital compositional elements by changing their positions and placing them in different contexts. | |
|
The most surprising and dramatic difference is the inclusion of a map hung on the white-washed wall directly behind the standing girl. Vermeer employed maps nine other times in other paintings.Of the 35 extant Vermeer's, a map was utilized in about one third of his paintings. The map that was included in the initial version of the Girl with a pearl Necklace presents similarities to one in The Art of Painting (right). |
|
|
The dark blue cloth, which often appears in Vermeer's paintings, covered less of the of the tile floor underneath the table. The sunlight floor tiles (left) and decorative elements of the table's legs originally played an important part in the composition. Vermeer used the same table in The Art of Painting, The Concert and in many other paintings. The extending table (right) is very similar to one on display in the Rijksmuseum. |
|
