In the beginning of Girl With A Pearl Earring we are introduced to Griet and her family, but the one who intrigued me most in referral to potential parallels and how class can influence interpretation was Griet’s father, a master painter of Delft tiles.
Unlike Vermeer, who we can see throughout the story as a man who agonizes over every detail and spends months on a single painting, Griet’s father is a man of streamlined artistry. Simple square tiles painted with delicate blue porcelain, depicting interesting motifs that are stylized and simple. Vermeer and the father both had a background in artistry, but for Vermeer it was a highly rewarded skill that allowed him a great deal of leniency when it came to time spent, versus Griet’s father who approached artistry with the understanding that it was the only thing supporting his family.
Another parallel I was curious to see what how Griet’s father is introduced to us as blind, and yet desperate for details of Vermeer’s paintings as seen through Griet’s eyes, only to grow more and more bitter as time goes on about his blindness and Griet’s unwillingness to acknowledge certain facts. This personality change is mirrored in opposite to Vermeer, who begins as distant with Griet, only to grow more interested in her interpretations and approach to art, going so far as to protect her from his own patron when he did not do the same with another maid he once painted.
They are an odd pair when placed side by side, a middle class artisan forced to quit due to a disability brought on by accident, and an upper class but struggling artist. Both were the main providers of the family wealth, and when both suffered, if in different ways, you can see how the families crumble and how it changes them.
I almost found this dynamic, of two very important men in Griet’s life and how they influenced her, interesting. It brought to mind the concept of love maps, and how we are raised and what we are introduced to at a young age can influence what we as individuals could find attractive. Griet is the daughter of an artisan, but she falls in love with an artist. It’s a curious little thread that was fun to chase over the course of this story, and how Vermeer and the father walked a similar path, if in opposite directions.