Literary Analysis Of Girl With A Pearl Earring

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Literary Research Report: Art Appreciation Art is an integral part of society. It is imbedded deep within human culture and has been around since nearly the beginning of humankind. How people view art greatly differs, not only between cultures, but between individuals. So many different meanings can be extracted from a single piece of work, which leads to the complexity and beauty of art itself. The meaning behind a work of art is not always what is important to people, it can also be the aesthetics. People like art that is pleasing to the eye as well as to the mind. In Girl With A Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, Griet, the protagonist, silently appreciates and critiques the artwork in the Vermeer household while busy acting as maid, a …show more content…

“I had seen paintings before, but never so many” thinks Griet as she first enters (Chevalier 17). This is the first step in her awakening of artistic expression. Of course, Griet’s father was a tile painter so she has seen her fair share of paintings but not the amount or kind that is in this home. She sees a “picture of Christ on the Cross […] Christ had thrown his head back in pain, and Mary Magdalene’s eyes were rolling. I lay in bed gingerly […] every detail was fixed in my mind” (Chevalier 30). Griet is not used to seeing works of this intensity, especially religious ones, and is made uncomfortable by it. It depicts Jesus as he is being crucified, which disturbs her. As Brieber explains in his article, “context affects the experience of art, the amount of time people spend on art, and, in turn, that viewing time is related to art experience” (Brieber 7). Art experience is more than just first impressions; it is the amount of time one spends with the artwork and the context one comes from. Griet is at first shocked by the piece because of her background, adding to her art experience. Over time she may develop entirely different perceptions about the art around her, changing her artistic experience and

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