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

Abstract

As part of the 2018 Girl in the Spotlight project, reflectance and molecular fluorescence imaging spectroscopy (RIS, FIS), and macroscale X-ray fluorescence scanning (MA-XRF) were performed on Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis) with the goal of obtaining a comprehensive understanding of the distribution of pigments. Prior analysis of cross-sections in the 1990s, and their recent (re)-examination identified many of the pigments present in the painting. The results from all three imaging methods, along with site-specific fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy, confirmed Vermeer's limited palette and determined how and where each pigment was used. RIS and MA-XRF found the blue region of the headscarf was painted with natural ultramarine and varying amounts of lead white. The yellow part of the headscarf was painted with yellow ochre and lead white, and the border of the headscarf additionally contained ultramarine and lead-tin yellow. The lit side of the jacket was painted with yellow ochre, lead white, and ultramarine, whereas the darker, ruddy blue-green areas that are in relative shadow contained yellow ochre with ultramarine. FIS also mapped a red lake in portions of the shadowed areas at the back of the jacket. The Girl's skin was painted using earths (ochres), lead white, vermilion, and some red lake. Fluorescence emission from red lake was strongest in the lips, where vermilion was also found. The pearl earring was depicted using a scumble and highlight of lead white. In the dark background, the RIS data cube allowed the determination of the visible spectral shape even though the overall reflectance intensity was low (1 to 3%). A reflectance inflection point at ~ 700 nm indicated the presence of indigo, whereas lack of a reflectance peak at green wavelengths in most areas indicated degradation of the yellow pigment previously identified as weld. Some small green areas in the background (i.e. reflectance maximum at 525 nm) were found; these coincided with areas previously protected by old retouchings, and are thus better preserved. The combination of all three spectral imaging modalities provided a more complete understanding of how the colouration of the painting was achieved.

Imaging secondary reaction products at the surface of Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring by means of macroscopic X-ray powder diffraction scanning

“…As a master of light and colour, Johannes Vermeer's palette was both limited and distinctive. He made extensive use of the costly pigment ultramarine and used several red pigments, including vermilion and red lakes [1,2]. While the original materials and techniques employed by Vermeer have been extensively studied, questions remain about how those materials might have changed since the work was painted in c. 1665 [3].…”

Out of the blue: Vermeer’s use of ultramarine in Girl with a Pearl Earring

“…In Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665, Mauritshuis) ( Fig. 1a), Vermeer used ultramarine extensively in the Girl's headscarf, and mixed with other pigments in the shadows of her yellow jacket [6][7][8]. A trace amount of ultramarine was also found in the pink flesh paint.…”

“…This suggests a deliberate addition, or the use of-a now faded-organic lake pigment. To support this, the paper compares the results of the analysis of organic lakes in the headscarf with the lake(s) detected in the background and jacket of Girl with a Pearl Earring [8,9]. The red and/or yellow dyestuffs in small paint fragments were analysed using ultra-high performance liquid chromatography with a photodiode array, attached to a fluorescence detector (UHPLC-PDA-FLR).…”

“…It is capable of detecting the presence of lead (Pb-M and Pb-L) indicative of lead white in both surface and underlayers. Calcium (Ca-K) and potassium (K-K) can be associated with both ultramarine and (substrates of ) organic lake pigments [8,[14][15][16][17]. MA-XRF is not, however, the most suitable technique to identify and map ultramarine.…”

“…Apart from calcium and potassium, the XRF emission of the other elements characteristic of ultramarine (Na, Al, Si, S) are easily absorbed-by paint materials, the air, the detector window-and are hardly detectable with a scanning setup. Instead, the RIS falsecolour images provided valuable information about the distribution of ultramarine in the headscarf [8]. RIS could not detect and image chalk, since the characteristic feature of chalk-a carbonate ion asymmetric stretching at approx.…”