Nothing less than a spark of eternity. The orient of the pearl in her ear can be found in the look, the smile, even in the gleaming side of the lip and the radiance of her face. This blinding flash, as blinding as the pearl in the shadows, projects something which greatly overshadows the most emblematic and famous portraits in the history of painting.

THE GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING - c. 1665- 1667
46.5 x 40 cm. - Maurithuis, The Hague