Girl with a Pearl Earring

I heard voices outside our front door a woman s, bright as polished brass, and a man s, low and dark like the wood of the table I was working on They were the kind of voices we heard rarely in our house I could hear rich carpets in their voices, books and pearls and fur The Girl With the Pearl EarringWhen the Vermeers came to visit Griet s home she had no idea they were there for her Her parents had decided, given their near destitution, to find Griet a position as a maid with a wealthy family H [...]

Another one of my wife s recommendations I read a lot of books that way , I picked it up from the bookshelf the night we came back from seeing the film with Scarlett Johansonn and Colin Firth I loved the movie it was just so incredibly sumptuous and was curious to know the story in the novel, which I knew from experience, and from my wife s continuous comments, would be different, detailed I was right.Chevalier has won a place in my heart and bookshelf Her novels are well crafted, simple to fol [...]

I know almost nothing about art, but even I can tell that Girl With a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer is a brilliant painting captivating is probably the best word to describe it One presumes that Chevalier agrees with me, and this is what lead her to write a novel about the painting, its subject and its creator So, is the novel as captivating as the piece that inspired it The short answer would be no.Now for the longer answerChevalier is probably one of the best known historical novelists of [...]

I approached this novel trepidatiously How could I ever suspend my disbelief with this work How could I ever believe such a ridiculous tale about Vermeer and one of his most revered paintings I must admit that I opened this novel expecting to utterly detest the lies it weaves By page two I realised that I was an idiot who should never be listened to Griet is hired as a maid to the Vermeer family in Delft This novel supposes that Griet the maid was the sitter for Vermeer s great work Girl with a [...]

I CAN T SHOUT MEH LOUD ENOUGH The popular fame obtained by this book and its subsequent movie version starring Scarlett Johansson two hours later Sorry, I was daydreaming had me expecting a tumultuous romance, a grab ya and hold ya reading experience But thisI don t know what this was, but it wasn t exciting in the least Girl With a Pearl Earring is about a maid, who becomes a model, who gets her picture painted and attracts the notice of a few men The painter is famous, so that s interesting Hi [...]

So the parts when Vermeer was actually being a painter were interesting Seeing as I slogged through this on account of a recommendation that arose from an art class lecture on Vermeer, I was hoping that the art stuff would at least deliver But it s not a good sign when a book s most compelling moments revolve around two people grinding pigments And, no Grinding pigments is not a euphemism for artist bangin It is, quite literally, referring to the detailed descriptions of how paint was made in th [...]

Girl with a Pearl EarringTracy ChevalierPlume, 2001The Girl with a Pearl Earring is a painting done by Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, around 1665 Not much is known about Vermeer which gives Chevalier creative license to develop what I believe is an interesting story The painting is currently on exhibition in New York, at the Frick Collection The exhibition is scheduled to be there until January 19, 2014.The story told in first person by Griet the protagonist starts in Delft South Holland , in 1 [...]

Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy ChevalierGirl with a Pearl Earring is a 1999 historical novel written by Tracy Chevalier Set in 17th century Delft, Holland, the novel was inspired by Delft school painter Johannes Vermeer s painting Girl with a Pearl Earring Chevalier presents a fictional account of Vermeer, the model, and the painting The novel was adapted into a 2003 film of the same name and a 2008 play Sixteen year old Griet lives with her family in Delft in 1664 Her father has been recently [...]

Have you ever seen the painting Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer No Then, have a look at it Isn t it beautiful I hadn t seen it until a few months ago, in a class I was taking at the university called film appreciation My professor wanted to show us the movie that goes by the name of this painting because he wanted to illustrate some concepts present in the movie and many other things Well, at the end of the movie, in the credits yes, I read the credits besides, the music was amazin [...]

This was a pleasant diversion This novel about a pretty maid who appeared in one of Vermeer s paintings is easy to slip into, didn t ask much of me, and kept me entertained for a few days Is it great literature No Was it turned into a decent movie Yes Would I recommend the book Depends The plot skips along well enough, and I enjoyed how the author invented stories for some of Vermeer s famous paintings My copy was a deluxe edition that included pictures of his artwork, which I appreciated Howeve [...]

I wrote a paper on artistic expression using Girl with a Pearl Earring as a source, since it is a painting, a movie, and a book It provided me fascinating fodder, a really good read, and a good grade on my paper This is a wonderful study in repression and tiny details There are some beautiful passages I absolutely love the study done of the character of Vermeer At one point, a character tells Griet the imagined Girl with a Pearl Earring to be careful, since Vermeer does not see her, but rather t [...]

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I ve been hearing good things about this book for years WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, everyone I know I found the prose artificially concise as if she had purposely limited her vocabulary by a factor of ten, or as if the narrator was Dutch but just learning English , the characters completely flat and unbelievable, and the rise in drama both ill explained and uninteresting I did not like or feel compassionate toward a single character, I didn t feel any catharsis about ANYTHING, and I understood nary a [...]

Tracy Chevalier Johannes Vermeer 1675 1632 Girl with Pearl Earring 1675 1665 16 18 .

Girl With a Pearl Earring tells a short story using a lot of words Even though the novel spans than a decade, not too much of note happens besides Vermeer s painting The book is like an historical account of an ordinary life with occasional excitement sprinkled in.I got a little bored at times I thought Tracy Chevalier spent too much time describing commonplace objects and scenes washing clothes, dusting, shopping and not enough time giving insight on Griet s character and the household drama [...]

This book features one of my favorite book heroines of all time Griet is competent, intelligent and observant She possesses the laudable ability to maneuver 17th century Delft in a shrewd and practical manner while still retaining her love of art finding beauty in even mundane things.Griet has a first rate mind, concealed in the body of essentially a peasant This poor maid is the only person who truly understands Vermeer s work The relationship she develops with the painter is satisfyingly subtl [...]

I loved this I don t say that often enough about a book I was impressed with the writing, completely invested in the story and pleased with the ending It s not easy to tick all those boxes, especially in a relatively short story What can I say.

This book is gorgeously written I love that Chevalier makes up all these lives to give a back story to just this one painting Well, that s not true We actually see the painting of three or four of Vermeer s 35 through Griet s eyes I know that I had to constantly pull up images of his paintings as I read to actually see what Griet was describing I must also say that I have never been much of a Vermeer fan, but having read about Vermeer through Griet s eyes, I see his paintings as much complex an [...]

An utter joy to read Really engaging, historically interesting, with strong characterisation and beautiful writing I will definitely be picking up by her

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I enjoyed this book The story is subtle making it the perfect example that less is in a story Some of my thoughts as I read 1 The society of the time classified everyone as a have or a have not For a girl who was in between it was a matter of time before she was forced to one side or the other She never fit in either world 2 Clearly this girl had a raw, undeveloped talent for art Had she lived in a different century would she have been the artist instead of the muse Her role was so defined she [...]

Um livro muito pl stico e impressivo onde nos aberta a porta da casa e do est dio de um dos maiores expoentes da arte flamenga do s culo XVII, Johannes Vermeer Da casa do pintor situada no Canto dos Papistas, as janelas abertas para a cidade de Delft permitem ao leitor sentir o pulsar de vida de uma t pica cidade mercantil holandesa e divisar toda a am lgama social que nela se movimentava As criadas, os a ougueiros, os mercadores ricos, os modestos pintores de azulejos.E tudo nos chega atrav s d [...]

Finished Excellent writing Each character was portrayed with depth I kept thinking that I should quote this line or that, but this was impossible without giving spoilers You must read the book to get into each of these characters and to submerge yourself into their lives The book is not only about thes principal characters but also about what motivates an artist to create Who is an artist Isn t it someone who simply cannot stop himself from painting, or playing music, or sculpting shapes, or cat [...]

What a visual little book The need for Griet to be obedient and silent as a girl, a housemaid, and later as a model, makes visual observation her key feature as the narrator I did see the movie when it came out was slow and beautifully filmed.a perfect interpretation of this novel I also enjoyed scrutinizing all the Vermeer paintings described in the book.

Gorgeous painting, deeper appreciation of art mediocre, annoying bookThis is a book that fictionalizes what might have been behind the famous Vermeer painting, Girl with a Pearl Earring Griet s family is destitute, and now she must work as a maid in the Vermeer household, cleaning up the famous painter s workstation Slowly, she grows interested in her master, and her master in her.I am not what you would call an artsy person I make an effort to decorate my home nicely, I can pick out nice yarns [...]

Love this story, love Vermeer s work Over 2 years a quiet and obedient maid named Griet goes to live as a servant for Johannes Vermeer and his family It is hard for Griet not to like this good and obedient protagonist, for she struggles with universal yearnings such as love and an escape from poverty Her life is a fairly solitary one as she finds herself growing apart from her family while living as an outsider in another s home The Vermeer family, with the exception of the painter himself, is n [...]

I don t know if it has to do with my vacation days or the fact that I really, but really enjoyed reading this novel, but is was almost impossible to put it down, even though I m not a big fan of historical fiction and I ve watched the film 2 times already Speaking of it, I m sure there were many details left out, it s hard now to tell which, but it was definitely an advantage to put a face on the characters.My interest in art over the years was quite inconsistent and I started by liking the mode [...]

Most of us know the painting, if not by name, but by sight at least You might have even watched the movie starring Colin Firth and Scarlett Johanssen Many of us might have heard of Johannes Vermeer, the artist behind this painting But have you ever wondered, who is the girl in the painting What is her story What lies behind that indecipherable expression Ever since I read The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant, I have loved books which involve art and artists I don t claim to have much knowledge abo [...]

Delicato come una pennellata, intenso come il blu oltremare L arte e la narrazione di mescolano come olio e pigmenti, rivelando mille sfumature i quadri di Vermeer prendono vita, si rivelano, diventano i personaggi di contorno alla protagonista.Visto le poche informazioni che abbiamo sulla vita del pittore, questa una bellissima leggenda a cui un piacere credere.La storia della nascita del quadro pi famoso di Vermeer ci viene raccontata dalla sua modella.Siamo nel 1664 Griet una giovane donna, f [...]

My favorite reading genre s are historical fiction, art and art history, and romance well, this book has all of these elements which made it a treat for me I have read most of Tracy Chevalier s work so I appreciate her ability to craft a good story After his death Vermeer and even his paintings fell into obscurity for two centuries, so Chevalier had a free hand to paint the fictional picture of the artist and the story surrounding the painting, The Girl With a Pearl Earring She did so beautifull [...]