michael barnaart + girl with a pearl earring

THE HAGUE – On the occasion of the Year of the Golden Age, designer Michael Barnaart from The Hague designed a brooch as an ode to the Girl with a Pearl Earring: “There is no icon from The Hague but this masterpiece by Johannes Vermeer,” says Michael Barnaart. “As the Dutch equivalent of the Mona Lisa, the Girl with the Pearl in the Mauritshuis is enticing people from all over the world.”

In addition to the beauty and striking look that Golden Age painter Vermeer gave the mysterious youngster, the use of color and the composition are of such simplicity and power that the image immediately captivates. This iconic quality inspired Michael Barnaart to design a brooch based on the painting: “By simplifying the colors even further and abstracting the forms, an exciting interplay of geometric elements has arisen. With of course the pearl as the center. ”

The enamelled brooches (41 mm x 51 mm) are engraved and have their own number. This new piece of jewelry fits in with Barnaart’s design tradition, in which strong images from both the high and the popular culture play an important role. Earlier, Barnaart designed a brooch as a nod to the Mondrian dress that he launched in 2011.

The brooches are available for € 39 in the Michael Barnaart + store and in the Mauritshuis.