Beauty is skin deep: the skin tones of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring

Abstract

The soft modelling of the skin tones in Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (Mauritshuis) has been remarked upon by art historians, and is their main argument to date this painting to c. 1665. This paper describes the materials and techniques Vermeer used to accomplish the smooth flesh tones and facial features of the Girl, which were investigated as part of the 2018 Girl in the Spotlight research project. It combines macroscopic X-ray fluorescence imaging (MA-XRF), reflectance imaging spectroscopy (RIS), and 3D digital microscopy. Vermeer built up the face, beginning with distinct areas of light and dark. He then smoothly blended the final layers to create almost seamless transitions. The combination of advanced imaging techniques highlighted that Vermeer built the soft contour around her face by leaving a 'gap' between the background and the skin. It also revealed details that were otherwise not visible with the naked eye, such as the eyelashes. Macroscopic imaging was complemented by the study of paint cross-sections using: light microscopy, SEM-EDX, FIB-STEM, synchrotron radiation µ-XRPD and FTIR-ATR. Vermeer intentionally used different qualities or grades of lead white in the flesh paints, showing different hydrocerussite/cerussite ratios and particle sizes. Lead isotope analysis showed that the geographic source of lead, from which the different types of lead white were manufactured, was the same: the region of Peak District of Derbyshire, UK. Finally, cross-section analysis identified the formation of new lead species in the paints: lead soaps and palmierite (K 2 Pb(SO 4) 2), associated with the red lake.

Revealing the painterly technique beneath the surface of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring using macro- and microscale imaging

“…Additional findings about the type of lead white and binding medium were made using analytical techniques that are not reported in this paper. Lead isotope analysis found that the lead ore in the ground was consistent with other Northern paintings, and came from a British source [6]. Micro X-ray powder diffraction (µXRPD) of cross-sections established that the average hydro cerussite to cerussite ratio is estimated as 0.88 ± 0.04, which is typical for Dutch stack process lead white [5].…”

“…Micro X-ray powder diffraction (µXRPD) of cross-sections established that the average hydro cerussite to cerussite ratio is estimated as 0.88 ± 0.04, which is typical for Dutch stack process lead white [5]. Fourier transform infrared-attenuated total reflectance spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR) analysis confirmed the presence of chalk, lead white and a drying oil in the ground [6,7]. A fragment was analysed using thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation, pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (THM-Py-GC/MS), which determined that the binding medium of the ground is linseed oil.…”

“…Vermeer applied underlayers with different colours and thicknesses in various parts of Girl with a Pearl Earring: black on one side of her headscarf [7], black beneath the background [8], and light pinkish-yellow beneath her skin [6]. As these distinct areas do not usually overlap, it is difficult to establish the precise order in which they were applied.…”

“…This helps to answer the third research question posed by the Girl in the Spotlight project: Which techniques did Vermeer use to create subtle optical effects, including the transition between light and shadow? The role of the underlayers in other areas of the painting are discussed in greater detail in other articles in this digital volume [5][6][7][8].…”

Mapping the pigment distribution of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring

“…the leftlit-side of the face), the MA-XRF iron map shows less emission intensity from iron, even though iron ochre was identified in the reflectance/first derivative spectra. A cross-section from the forehead [12] identified a small amount of iron ochre in the surface layer, and more iron ochre in the sub-surface layer beneath the mercury-and lead-containing paint. Hence, the low intensity of iron in this region in the MA-XRF map could be the result of mercury and lead absorbing some of the X-ray excitation irradiance, thus effectively reducing the amount of iron that is excited.…”