By Millie Morris, Arts Editor
What makes a painting spectacular to us? Is it the composition, impeccable technique; some inexplicable mastery which bubbles below the surface, but you cannot quite identify? Or could it be the echo of what others have already said about the painting?
Years of speculation; volumes of art history dedicated to the subtle upturn of an Italian woman's lips; the mental state of a post-impressionist on the brink of suicide; the pursuit of the back story of a bejewelled girl. Could it be the painting's celebrity which leaves a lasting impression upon us, and not the painting itself?
Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' has been met with much speculation, both within the academic world and popular culture. Tracey Chevalier's 1999 novel inspired by the controversial portrait brought it more into the eye of the modern public, furthered still by the 2003 film starring Scarlett Johansson. But what of the painting itself? Does it merit this intrigue, or is it, as can so often be the case with art, merely a case of following what's in fashion?
Image: CTV News
The Mauritshuis gallery in Den Haag, Netherlands, promises to unsheathe this enigma. Upon entering a room on the uppermost floor of this modestly sized, grandiosely furnished gallery, Vermeer's painting is an immediate eye-catcher. Demurely, though some might say seductively, the girl gazes directly at her viewer; from the shimmer in the corners of her moist lips, the subtle glow of the earring itself to the gentle, muted tones of clothing which further highlight her delicate face, there is no doubt that this is a spectacular painting.
I expect to be underwhelmed by the Mona Lisa
But might it be true that this only attracted me upon immediate entrance because it was the piece I had been searching for the whole time I was scaling each floor? The ruby in the dust of a gallery which, although housing some astounding work, has its biggest boast with this renowned and acclaimed painting?
I expect to be underwhelmed by the Mona Lisa. Countless people have told me 'it's tiny' and 'not even that good' (no doubt the words of an erudite critic), but when I arrive in the room with the glass-fronted wall there is a problem I did not anticipate: the sheer volume of people traffic.
The Louvre is awash with tourists as it is, a crowded sea of creatures which mindlessly snap their iPads at stunning pieces; barely glancing to properly drink in the artistic skill and visual nuances, they instead insist on reducing their view to one seen through a blazing screen.
Image: Hannah Worthington / epigram
But the Mona Lisa is the pinnacle of this technological condensation. I can't get near enough to even see the painting in its physical entirety, let alone ponder it at length. This isn't a gallery, it's a farmyard of fame-seekers who are seduced only by the painting's renown, never stopping once in the midst of their frantic selfie-taking to consider the artistry of the piece.
What about the carefully crafted colours, the contrast between the woman's skin and clothes? What about her eyes, the way that they refuse to smile like the small crescent moon below? The mystery of the Mona Lisa remains, perhaps, because her spectators refuse to try and solve it.
Would these people even go to see the work, should it have no celebrity value?
The art world is a fickle place, and one which falls to the mercy of any emperor parading his new clothes with enough pride. Would these people even go to see the work, should it have no celebrity value? I'd like to think so, but it is hard to see past the name-dropping, I-was-here culture which pervades what should be a space of quiet appreciation.
In terms of the paintings themselves, the compositions are so firmly stamped into my brain as memory that it is impossible to consider them in a fresh way; yet they are, undoubtedly, remarkable artistic achievements. Would I walk past these canvases, head high and scarcely sparing a glance for an earring or subtle smile? Probably not, but the light that celebrity shines on art and the world at large will continue to mar our view irreversibly -- we just have to seek intrinsic artistic value, reception aside, in order to see what truly stands out as a masterpiece.
Feature Image Credit: Unsplash
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