The Girl in the Spotlight

Abbie Vandivere
Wednesday, August 1, 2018, 12:30 pm
A Technical (Re)examination of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring
Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring (ca. 1665) is the most beloved painting in the collection of the Mauritshuis, in The Hague, and one of the most recognizable images in the world. It was last examined during a conservation treatment in 1994, and although further restoration is not yet required, recent advances in noninvasive technical analysis have provided an opportunity to discover more about Vermeer’s practice and the painting’s construction. Earlier this year, Girl with a Pearl Earring was the subject of an in-depth scientific examination project titled “The Girl in the Spotlight.” The technical study was conducted over a two-week period-in view of museum visitors-and made use of the latest scientific technology, including macro-X-ray fluorescence scanning; near-infrared imaging; optical coherence tomography; 3-D digital microscopy; macro-X-ray powder diffraction; color/gloss/topography scanning; and the reexamination of paint samples taken in 1994. Dr. Abbie Vandivere describes the scope and objectives of the project, which has illuminated previously unknown aspects of Vermeer’s materials and techniques.
Abbie Vandivere is Paintings Conservator at the Mauritshuis and Head Researcher for “The Girl in the Spotlight.” She also coordinates the graduate program in Technical Art History at the University of Amsterdam. She received her Ph.D. in 2013; her dissertation was titled From the Ground Up: Surface and Subsurface Effects in Early Netherlandish Paintings. She earned her postgraduate diploma in Paintings Conservation from the Courtauld Institute, London, and her B.A. from Princeton University, New Jersey.
Learn about “The Girl in the Spotlight” research project partners
Presented in conjunction with the Summer Teachers Institute in Technical Art History at Yale.