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The secrets of Girl with a Pearl Earring

Girl with a Pearl Earring

A new research project at the Mauritshuis in The Hague hopes to unlock some of the mysteries that surround Vermeer’s masterpiece. Watch the video to find out more.

Very little is known about the 17th Century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer – or his masterpiece, Girl with a Pearl Earring. Who is she? What is she about to say? These are questions that have intrigued the millions of viewers who have flocked to gaze at her over the years.

A new research project led by the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague – where Girl with a Pearl Earring is a star attraction – hopes to address some of the questions that exist, about how she was painted, the materials used and what Vermeer himself intended.

BBC Culture visited the project to find out more. Click on the video above to watch the story.

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