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The two works of art examined here appear quite different and indeed when analyzing the context similarities seem nearly impossible. The Girl with a Pearl Earring is a portrait of a young girl with the focal point being her teardrop-shaped pearl earring. The painting is oil on canvas and stands the test of time as the most famous masterpiece of Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, on whom very little information can be found. The subject is a young, bright-faced girl facing forward, lips slightly parted, while her body is turned away. The sculpture Atlas’ Slave by Michelangelo is carved into marble and depicts the mythical figure of Atlas supporting the world on his shoulders.
The date associated with Atlas’ Slave is rather obscured, though most critics estimate sometime between 1515 and 1530. Michelangelo is well known for working during the “high renaissance”, in which artists and scholars were rediscovering Roman and Greek mythology and their image of man as a civilized, beautiful, intellectual creature. The context in which Michelangelo carved this sculpture is quite fitting to the meaning of the piece because it uses a popular subject among his contemporaries. Also, depicting Atlas as strong and handsomely shaped fits in Renaissance art because it celebrates the beauty, strength, and ability of man. The material Michelangelo uses contributes to the strength and realistic appearance of the sculpture as well and contributes to the meaning of the sculpture.
By sculpting Atlas’ Slave out of marble he emphasizes the Renaissance belief that man was indestructible and extremely strong and capable. Another interesting detail is the seemingly unfinished quality of the sculpture. “Often the original form of the material is totally altered in the process, but in Michelangelo’s Atlas’ Slave we can still see the rectangular block of stone…” (Zelenski 304). Perhaps Michelangelo’s intention here was to make the viewer aware of the medium with which he was creating. It’s easy to picture a fully completed sculpture as human, but here we are fully aware that Atlas is carved from a block of marble and, in a sense, this highlights the connection between man and his connection to the earth. In comparison to Vermeer’s work, Atlas’ Slave depicts a strong, intimidating image of a down-trodden hero, who has to carry the world on his back, when Vermeer’s girl appears as the pinnacle of femininity, softness, even desire.
Girl with a Pearl Earring also has mystery surrounding its creation. Like Atlas’ Slave, the date of the work is unclear, though critics assume it was finished around 1665. Vermeer was considered a Dutch Baroque painter and, true to its context, the painting portrays a level of reserved emotion in the slight head tilt and longing gaze of the subject. Girl with a Pearl Earring is undeniably Baroque in its use of bright color and shadows. She is painted to the right side of the canvas with darkness in the background and covering her back. “The painting makes a strong impression because the girl is intently gazing directly at the viewer while her head is turned away from the viewer at an unusually large angle” (West 314).
The painting feels bright and colorful, but in reality, the amount of light on the subject is rather minimal and from one direction—perhaps she was sitting by a window to her right side. The materials used also contribute to the meaning of the painting. Vermeer was known for using extravagant paints such as the very pricey ‘lapis lazuli’ which comprises the blue in the girl’s headscarf. The use of this and other bright colors adds to the passion of a painting that reads as otherwise quite demure. The strong blue color of the girl’s headscarf draws the eye immediately upward so that the pearl earring that serves as a focal point is noticed almost secondarily as it is partially covered in darkness. Though many rumors have been made to explain who the girl was and how she was connected to Vermeer, there is not concrete identification (Barnes 1223). We still do not know whether the painting was commissioned, which would certainly contribute to the meaning of the piece.
Though the analysis of these two works leads a viewer in two different directions, similarities can be found. Both have a lot of mystery surrounding their creation; neither has a concrete date associated with it. Also, both works are disconnected from their intended use: we don’t know whether Vermeer’s painting was commissioned or who the subject was in relation to the painter, and though we know that Atlas’ Slave was intended to surround the tomb of a Pope, it was supposedly never included.
Works Cited
Bernadine Barnes (2007). Michelangelo. Review of medium The Sixteenth Century Journal, 38(4), 1223. Web.
Paul Zelanski, Mary Pat Fisher. The Art of Seeing (1991). Prentice-Hall: New York. Seventh Edition. 496 pages.
Roger W West, Hank G Van Veen. (2007). Gaze as Depicted in Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. The Journal of General Psychology, 134(3), 313-28. Web.
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