I had the most incredible experience speaking at a book club this past weekend! Using Tracy Chevalier’s intriguing historical fiction novel, The Girl with a Pearl Earring, we discussed Vermeer, the Golden Age of Dutch Baroque painting and Vermeer’s epic masterpiece of the same name. Our hostess for the event, Holly, thought of so many wonderful details to enhance the experience. There were cookies that looked like painters’ palettes, fresh tulips on all the tables and even a chocolate version of “The Girl with the Pearl Earring” – I was completely blown away! I am so grateful she asked me to speak at her event.
Vermeer’s painting, “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” carries with it a sense of mystery and mystique. Art historians have not identified the sitter and the painting itself breaks from Vermeer’s very obvious “format.” One art historian described this painting as “the Mona Lisa of the north.” I couldn’t agree more!