GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING:MONA LISA OF THE NORTH?

ARTIST OR CRIMINAL?

Michelangelo Merisi, otherwise known as the world famous Carvaggio, was one of the most influencial painters of his time - the Baroque. Caravaggio was born on September 29, 1571 in Milan. While growing up,he began his training as a painter in Milan under artist Simone Peterzano in 1584. After long and hard training, Caravaggio moved to Rome in his early twenties in 1592, where he had painted formultiple churches.

Caravaggio moved to Rome in order to escape “certain quarrels”. He went to Rome with little to no money. After a few months had passed after his arrival, he worked with Giuseppe Cesari, who happened to be Pope Clement VIII’s favorite artist. This was when he created his earliest known painting, known as Boy Peeling a Fruit. Some other works that he made while working with Cesari were Boy with a Basket of Fruit, as well as Young Sick Bacchus. Caravaggio’s work with Cesari ended in 1594 due to a serious illness.

Caravaggio created numerous paintings during his life, and

contributed to an artistic movement known as Tenebrism, which was the shift from light to dark with little “happy medium” between the two. He was also an artist who portrayed radical

naturalism, with a combination of theatrical and physical observation. One major point that set Caravaggio aside from all the other painters of his time was that he preferred to paint subjects as they were seen, including all of their natural flaws instead of making them look “perfect” in his paintings. He wanted to capture the true essence of the scene, rather than perfecting it for show. These methods were the foundation for all of his works of art.

In 1599, Caravaggio was contracted to decorate the Contarelli Chapel, in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi. This may be one of the most famous of all of Caravaggio’s commissions. This commision consisted of two outstanding works - Martyrdom of Saint Matthew, and Callling of Saint Matthew, both created in 1600. These paintings gave off sensational emotion for the very first time. They also demonstrated the dense realism that Caravaggio used.

Sadly, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio died when he was 38 years of age due to “mysterious circumstances” in Porto Ercole, Tuscany on July 18, 1610.

Michelangelo Merisi da caravaggio(1571-1610)

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is one of the most controversial artists of the Baroque, solely due to his motives and the numerous impacts he made on others. Throughout his life, Caravaggio was active in Rome, Naples, Malta, and Sicily. But many people ask, why so many places? The explanation to why Caravaggio moved around so much is a big mystery. Most often, the biggest and most simplest reason why Caravaggio moved to so many places was that he wanted to explore different cultures, and he wanted to expose himself to various art movements as well as artists of his time. But growing as an artist wasn’t the only reason why Caravaggio moved around so

much, there were other reasons as well. One reason why he moved often was because he tried to avoid the plague, which was a deathly epedemic that spread like wildfire across Europe. There were several outbreaks of the plague in multiple parts of Italy, and there was no cure for this illness, therefore, it was something to be avoided. But perhaps the biggest reason why Caravaggio was always quick to flee places where he previously lived was because he constantly ran into trouble. Caravaggio had a record of getting into “quarrels” with other people, most of them artists or people who disliked his portrayal of realism. The majority of these “quarrels” were very violent, often involving physical contact. For

instance, while living in Naples, Caravaggio got into a huge fight in 1609 that almost took his life. It is said that the violence of his life, such as the multiple fights he had gotten in, dramatically influenced his paintings in great measures. He enjoyed making his paintings look more violent, which also showed early signs of Romanticism. Besides these many “quarrels”, Caravaggio had been arrested tons of times, and had a huge police record. He was known as a very dangerous man. It was noted that one day, in a restaraunt in Rome when Caravaggio was ordering food, the waiter questioned his methods of painting. In response, Caravaggio smashed a plate into his mouth - which was an unnecessary move. Another instance where Caravaggio demonstrated dangerous behavior was when a young painter inssulted him behind his back in Naples. In response, Caravaggio stalked him that night and at the “right” moment attacked the young painter with a sword. One of the worse things Caravaggio had ever done took place on

the wall of violence in caravaggio

The Eyes Behind the Painting

GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING

Johannes Vermeer, Self-portrait

Vermeer’s intense use of color and dense volume makes his works stand out like no other. He also uses the “Dutch custom” of consistently using dark, rich backgrounds as opposed to colorful ones we see in the Italian paintings of this time. He uses a unique blend of creamier tones and pigments for the girl’s skin so it has a sort of glowing effect in the light and contrasts with the background. The focal point of the painting,

as the name suggests, is the pearl earring. Many of the women Vermeer painted are associated with pearls, as eleven other pearls of this kind appear in his works. A strength of the painting is its use of light, illuminating the girls face and highlighting the earring. Critics suggest that an earring of this type was unlikely to exist at this time.

The Girl with a Pearl Earring was a masterpiece created by Johannes Vermeer, a Dutch painter. Many people are unaware of Vermeer’s wonderful works, and it is unclear as to why this is. His paintings were signed by his name “IVMEER”, but were rarely dated, which results in some confusion given that the viewer doesn’t know the exact date of when the painting was made.

The Girl with a Pearl Earring was created in 1665, during the art movement of the Baroque. The girl in this painting is believed to be Vermeer’s eldest daughter, Maria. This painting is one of the forty figure paintings Vermeer created consisting of only woman. The Girl with a Pearl Earring is located in The Hague, Netherlands. The painting is a permanent display of the Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery.

MONA LISA OF THE NORTH?

The Girl with a Pearl Earring was created in 1665, during the Baroque, while the Mona Lisa was created by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1506. Although the Mona Lisa was created much earlier than the Girl with a Pearl Earring, many art historians and experts claim that it is, indeed the ‘Mona Lisa’ of the North. However, the Girl with a Pearl Earring, does not receive nearly as much recognition or popularity as the Mona Lisa. About six million people go to the Louvre in Paris to see the Mona Lisa every year, where as the Girl with a Pearl Earring doesn’t receive nearly as much attention. There different uses of color, as well as the different vibes these paintings give off to the viewer is almost

startling - it is as if the woman is truly there, looking at you. But what is probably the most overseen about these two paintings is their similarities. The women in both of these paintings are both glaring, looking at you with intensity. They are also both middle class women, which is something extremely rare of the time. During the 16th and 17th centuries, only the upper class aristocrats and royalty would have portraits created of themselves, where as here we have two ordinary women’s portraits which are considered the masterpieces of all portraiture - as some may argue.