Artists around the world have reimagined the iconic “Girl with a Pearl Earring” after the Mauritshuis museum loaned out the original masterpiece for a major exhibition in Amsterdam. Over 2,700 artists, spanning from Texas to Ukraine and ages 7 to 70, submitted their interpretations of the 17th-century painting using diverse materials such as orange peels, bottle caps, and sweatshirts. A selection of 60 artworks was displayed in the museum while the original painting was temporarily absent.
Martine Gosselink, the museum’s director, expressed the ongoing fascination with the mystery girl depicted in the artwork. Various artists, like Rob de Heer, incorporated unique elements into their reinterpretations, such as combining the girl’s face with that of a Wayang puppet to symbolize the Netherlands’ colonial history. Other submissions included creative approaches like using an ear of corn for the face or placing the original girl in a modern setting at a bus stop.
Following the success of the initial exhibition, a second round of submissions is currently on display at the Fabrique des Lumières in Amsterdam. The museum continues to showcase submitted artworks on its Instagram page. Gosselink praised the diversity and quality of the submissions, highlighting that some pieces could stand as new works of art in their own right.
