It is incredible how Vermeer managed to make a painting of a single anonymous woman so alluring. The subject of the painting stands against a dark background, and she wears a blue and gold turban and an oversized Pearl earring. She looks directly at the viewer and her gaze is both penetrating and ambiguous. Her open mouth creates the sense we have culture in a momentary stance, perhaps just as she is about to speak. This painting is not a portrait, but a “Tronie” which is a Dutch term for a representation of a character or a type of person. In other words. even though Vermeer most likely had a sitter model for the painting, he did not intend to portray a specific individual, but rather a particular type of person. Aside from the woman’s curious enigmatic and impenetrable gaze, Vermeer’s play of light is what really makes this painting. Notice how gleams of light catch in her eyes and fall upon her lips, thus bringing her to life. The intense chiaroscuro spotlights the subtlety of her expression and intensifies the paintings intimacy by bringing the subject closer to us. Perhaps the most famous element of the painting is the woman’s pearl earring that catches and reflects the light, thereby demanding our full attention. A close up of the pearl shows how it has been rendered with a few simple strokes of paint. This reveals Vermeer’s masterful command of light and his skillful ability to create painterly illusions. This painting is shrouded in so many unanswered questions and so much mystery that it is sometimes referred to as the Dutch Mona Lisa. We are unsure about the sitter’s identity, what the subject is meant to be feeling, and what our relationship is to her. It is also unclear whether she is turning away from us or turning towards us. I believe that these unanswered questions is precisely what makes this painting so captivating and so absorbing. The fact that we know so little about it allows our minds to wander and formulate endless possibilities.