Today I started reading 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' by Tracy Chevalier. In seventeenth century Delft, a prosperous town in Holland, life was orderly. Rich and poor, Catholic and Protestant, master and servant: all know their place. So when Griet becomes a maid in the household of the painter Johannes Vermeer, she thinks she knows her role: housework, laundry, and the care of his six children. She even feels able to handle his shrewd mother-in-law, his restless, sensual wife and their jealous servant. What no-one expects is that Griet’s quiet manner, quick perceptions and fascination with her master’s paintings will draw her inexorably into his world. As she becomes part of his work their growing intimacy spreads tension and deception in the ordered household and even – as the scandal seeps out – ripples in the town beyond. Tracy Chevalier was inspired by the girl from one of Vermeer’s most loved and mysterious paintings. She has created an extraordinary and moving novel on the corruption of innocence and the price of genius. For a detailed study of the painting, see the link here.. The film's website is here.

Hoy he empezado a leer 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' (La muchacha con el pendiente de perla, en espaniol) de Tracy Chevalier. En el siglo XVII, en Delft, una prospera ciudad holandesa, la vida cotidiana es puro orden. Ricos y pobres, catolicos y protestantes, amos y criados: todos saben bien a que clase pertenecen y lo que la sociedad espera de ellos. Cuando Griet empieza a trabajar de criada en la casa del pintor Johannes Vermeer, ella tambien cree que sabe su 'sitio': hacer las tareas domesticas, lavar la ropa y cuidar de los seis hijos del pintor. Griet incluso cree que puede manejar a la suegra del pintor, a su nerviosa esposa y a la celosa criada. Lo que nadie en la casa se imagina es que las maneras reservadas de Griet, sus sagaces opiniones y la fascinacion que siente por las pinturas de su amo haran que este la introduzca inexorablemente a su mundo. La tension y el enganio crecen dia a dia a medida que Griet se va acercando mas y mas a su amo, dicha situacion llegando incluso a transpirar fuera de las paredes de la casa y ser conocida en la ciudad. Tracy Chevelier se inspiro en la muchacha que aparece en la mas conocida y admirada de las obras de Vermeer, creando una novela fascinante sobre la corrupcion de la inocencia juvenil y el precio que se paga por ser un genio. Para un estudio detallado de la pintura, ver aqui.
La website de la pelicula esta aqui.

The weather today:
Sunny
21C
UV Index: 3 Low
Wind: From the North at 9 mph
Dew Point: 10C
Humidity: 50%
Visibility: Unlimited
Barometer: 1,025.1 mb