The Girl with the Pearl Earring.
The very first scene is important when considering how the characters will interact with each other for the rest of the novel. The author does a remarkably ood job of making it clear the basic characteristics of each person. Greet is a perfectionist, Caterina is clumsy and foolish, Vermeer is blunt and inquiring. Religious differences are extremely important to the plot of this story. The initial perceived strangeness of Vermeer and his family as Catholics compared to Greet as a Protestant, as well as the shift to familiarity with Vermeer when she discovers that he is secretly Protestant as well, creates a level of relation that their joint appreciation of art did not quite accomplish.
While they both love art, they sThee it in very different ways (note her confusion regarding the camera obscura), her perception of it is that of a tile maker’s daughter- desiring both great beauty and practicality, as well as a certain level of sadness in its relation to her father and his ability (and now, lack thereof). In contrast, his is that of a painter- beauty with a lack of practicality, as well as the beauty being tainted by a level of responsibility or requirement- he needs to produce art, he can’t choose not to, or even sometimes, what to produce.
Greet’s discomfort with many of the paintings displayed in the house (The Crucifixion, the painting in her cellar room) contrasted to Vermeer’s creations, to me, represents a certain discomfort with the way he presents himself and his family versus how she believes he truly is. This of course returns to the contrast of comfort and discomfort with Protestantism and Catholicism.