More news from the In Your Face portrait project. Yesterday a portrait submission arrived that struck several chords with me. The artist had based her submission on the famous ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ by 17th century Dutch painter Jan Vermeer – a picture that inspired a recent film. In her acrylic the artist replaced the original sitter’s face with her own. I loved it. What a great indication of how we can personalize the art of the past and make it live today. I mean, the process of creating such a portrait requires you to study the original painting closely. You get inside Vermeer the creator, you ponder his working method, his relationship with his young subject. And then of course you can’t help wondering about the sitter. You imagine yourself in her place and speculate about her life. Ultimately, maybe you experience a new connection to distant lands and distant people and discover something about yourself in the process. Do you like climbing inside other peoples’ lives? Does this thing kind of time-travel play a role in your life? Does it help define who you are? It does me.
