Of
Till Briegleb
When Bob Haak published his epochal overview “The Golden Age of Dutch Painting” in 1982, the art historian Jan Vermeer did not mention a word about “The Girl with a Pearl Earring”. The painting from 1665 was initially not given a special role in later works that wanted to get to the bottom of the Delft painter and his secrets. The title of the “Mona Lisa of the North”, which is so often quoted today, was not on anyone’s tongue at the time.