Tracy Chevalier: Finding the story inside the painting 

it's true you never tire to look in Girl with a Pearl Earring's eyes and wonder....I can see desire..a little bit of fear...humbleness and the fresh glance that only youth can have.

Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier was the first real novel I read at grade 5. It's what drew me into the amazing world of literature, and I read the novel a number of times. I stole it from my school library, in fact. My guilt has since then left me to donate every other book I go through to the elementary school library, though many are turned back now since they are too mature. Still, Tracy Chevalier and her book changed my life, I hope one day she might read one of my own novels.

I've started doing this in galleries too. When you get right down to it, the only way to appreciate a painting is through your own experience. And the paintings you find most interesting are probably those that resound the most with your ideas, your history, your state of mind, etc.

I absolutely loved how seeing a creative mind works when viewing something that I would merely look at and think 'oh, pretty.'

I loved the book. Feeling touched by the ending, ugh, love how writers play with the feelings

This doesn't negate her point about extracting stories from paintings, but, you can't assume that the model is actually wearing the expression seen in the painting. The painter has the power to make the model appear to be blushing or opening her mouth, etc. regardless of the model's actual expression. So, while you might be able to draw conclusions about a model's state of mind and the story behind it from a photograph, you are on shakier ground with a painting where the painter might be trying to tell his/her own story.

Impressive how much people dislike this talk, i found it quite nice actually!

I loved the stories, the interpretations. The story behind a portrait or a painting is its essence. And Tracy propels me to think a little more.

I love the way she reads the story inside the painting...I love to do the same...except with all art...and life is art.

Really interesting talk. The girl with a pearl is such a striking painting, far better than the Mona Lisa in my opinion. I like Tracy's way of looking at paintings but I think she's reading too much into the Elizabethan painting. It was common for people to be painted with rosy cheeks as a sign of good health.

Her imagination is beautiful.

This is a great insight on writing fiction. Thank you for the generosity.

I love this because we shouldn't move from things that capture our attention, but study it 😊

good art invites us to make up all we want to about it. a talented and intuitive art connoisseur is able to interpret lots into a painting and we recognize what is being interpreted on a certain level and it makes sense to us. she does this beautifully. you can ignore the idiots who are irritated by this. they have probably never appreciated artwork on a deep level. bravo! great ted video!

I think having some fiction along with your favorite pieces of art is a great way to enjoy the art in the first place. I'm not a highbrow when it comes to art, but I don't think everyone should be. I think there's room in the world for precise art appreciation as well as exuberant art appreciation. Her approach to galleries as an experience was really helpful for someone like me who wants to give herself permission to ENJOY art instead of feeling guilty for not being "sophisticated" about it.

What a fantastic story! Great novel and film as well.

I like I love Vermeer! What soft and lovely light he painted. The light was almost always daylight from a window on one side of the painting. Blue and Yellow, the idea of color valance and complementary colors was not introduced until the 18 century, good contrast pattern of balance of blue and yellow, reflection, and illusion!

An amazing thought process.

I love the last story

The last story though....I may be tearing up a bit!

Gosh the last story, I almost cried

Loved this talk!

I have always done this subconsiously, never thought about it. The biggest problem with galleries today is that they are quite empty, big white rooms, large floors, it gives psychological effect of being in the desert. Paintings have frames, but are exposed on a WHITE bright wall. Some tapestry or some other colour would not hurt. Other problem is that most modern oil paintings are reliefs, they are 3d forms, pain thas phsical depth. So it seems only natural to me that I want to touch it, and rightfully so I do this.

the story she read was simply sweet ... and sad at the same time. is it just me or ?

i'd argue w/ that. i'd say the ones i appreciate the most are those which force me to see beyond my tiny little, narrow experience and join the parade of experiences which is the history of humankind.

That was absolutely beautiful! 💕💕💕💕

I read the book and love it & the painting

Most people are missing the point. These aren't supposed to be the actual stories behind the paintings, but her own subjective interpretation of what they could mean. This is just a guide on how be more observant and how to connect deeper with paintings.

Very cool. Thank you.

very informative !

The book was amazing

The Lady and the Unicorn is also a great book by her. The story is based on the tapestries and their making.

this story for the Girl with the Pearl.Earring was from the book.and the movie adaptation starring Scarlet Johansson.

I loved the book which is a look to Vermeer's greatest and most enigmatic painting

For some reson when she said about what the girl is feeling i suddenly i thought that she was discuss and her face started moving to a discuss face i CANT make her face turn in to a sad or a happy face WHAT A SKILLED PAINTER

As for me I can safely say that I went twice to the Van Gogh museum and the last thing I thought was about coffee 😉 His paintings are so great, my number one artist 🔝✌🏽🏆

That first one was great.

Good story!)

Brilliant.

In Tracy Chevalier's hands, a tale unfolds, Of art and passion, in stories untold. She finds the story inside the painting's frame, And breathes life into characters, without shame. With brush strokes bold, she paints the scene, Of Vermeer's girl, in shades serene. Through Chevalier's eyes, we see her plight, A maid's journey, in the soft candlelight. She delves into history, with meticulous care, To uncover the truth, hidden there. In 'Girl with a Pearl Earring', she finds, The essence of life, in the artist's mind. With words that dance, like colors on a canvas, Chevalier weaves a tale, both delicate and grandiose. Of love and longing, in a world gone by, Where art and emotion, forever lie. So let us follow Chevalier's lead, And journey through paintings, with hearts that bleed. For in the story inside the painting, we find, The beauty of life, in body and mind.

Generally, when I approach an artist and their art, I like the backstory of the artist don't you? Who they are, when they were born, where from, what motivated them, what influenced them. The understanding of them brings their art so much more alive. Were they a good or bad person, were they rich or poor, were they religious, were they high sexualized, mentally ill, a family man, a court painter, portrait, landscape? Did they paint for money, prestige, to make sense of a chaotic world, to impress? Usually after that the painters that we all know and are recognized as the most famous or as the best is because they are just that. The one's that are more famous is because they are better painters more skilled more talented. Same with literature and sports. Unlike music, popularity in the fine arts is decided by adults and not children. Of course adults are more mature, experienced, introspective and discerning. In the fine arts you can paint or you cannot there's not any studio trickery or electronics or collaboration. A painter can be a beautiful well kept person or a fat slob that is imbued with loads of talents and paints hours a day. You'll very rarely see a great artist spending his/her time with a lesser artist to paint other then just as a friend. The student very rarely can show technique to the teacher there are exceptions. Try it next time you go to a museum or gallery, see which artist draws your eye and makes you realize why they are so well known. Look at a Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Caravaggio, Klimt, Munch, Monet, Delacroix you'll see what I mean.

well you have to see that this is her own artwork to do this and it helps to try and appreciate it a little

The story she read was amazing. Does anyone know which book was it from?

I liked every story but the last one.

This 3 rd story…. It’s just… wow

Girl with a Pearl Earring is what we call the painting today, which is a tronie and was meant to display for prospective buyers the skill of the painter himself. An advertisement. But this painting shows signs that this was an actual person who sat for this and not a made up design by Vermeer, who often used a camera obscura to aid in his photographic effect. He seemed to have been fascinated by reproducing in color the images projected onto his canvas, in effect becoming part of an early human photographic process. As for this painting, he may have just had the person sit for it in stages normally and did not use the camera obscura. I always thought Tracy Chevalier was an old man.

there's a Nord Stage synth in the background on the stage

Tracy wants to be thankful she lives in the 21C ; 200 years back the R.A. Used to just hang them on the wall next to each other imagine the confusion ; now the really special or popular paintings are sometimes given a whole room to themselves!!

To be honest, I would only stop at Girl With Pearl darling.

I stand by my analogy as it was intended to show how making up a story distorts the perception of the original content while maintaining the aspects you may favor, but a better analogy may be, " I really like this song. Nobody knows how or when the artist wrote it. He must've wrote it while in an airplane because he references airplanes in it"

Kind of interesting, but the end I was kind of mentally rolling my eyes. Started to sound like softcore novels women get from the local library.

she speaks like female christian bale

a new perspective to everything...

I usually hate these artsy ones but this one was interesting.

It's same as everyone see movie and feel fun about different things^^

Wow the stage was so small back then

Just keep writing!

True, but how we are affected by a painting depends on our experience. On our aesthetic values, our principles, our fears, etc. The only way in which I can experience the expansion of my point of view through a painting is if I find it interesting first. If I'm not interested, I'll simply walk by. There has to be something familiar or intriguing to ME in it which lures me to observe it more closely.

The key to that is to make things up on a whim, using various aspects of the given painting. I don't see the point, though. What does someone gain by doing this?

Good morning my friends in RU-vid, Google ..the words does not value your great efforts to educate people and make them happy..I'm one of them every day I educate new something you have applied us..thanks thanks thanks..

I'm very sad my teacher is making me watch this for homework

i wish i could explain it any better than ajamerlan, but i can only urge you to read the comment again, and make a deeper connection with it to understand it. Maybe you will find this new experience useful with paintings, too.

everyone's different. what attracts and interests us are different.

I tend to agree with this person. Largely because I hate when people say things blatantly obvious as if it were a novel idea. Not to mention that she derives a conclusion from a problem that only an egotistical person has and tries to make it sound like her conclusion is a good one when the problem is that perhaps if you went to an art gallery more often you wouldn't have the problem of having to look at every painting in one go.

It is subjective in that you can describe what it means to you and how experiencing art relates to you personally, but making up a story surround a possible history for how the painting is made is not the same level of interpretation or subjectivity. That is making a claim towards fact, which can be dismissed or proven wrong. The truth is nobody knows who the girl is or the circumstances in which the painting was made, but a lack of information in any given topic is not an invitation to lie

Tell me your version of the stories.

The Girl With a Pearl Earring...is Lady Gaga.

i like her to read me a book:-)

when i get gallery fatigue i tailgate; right there on the spot. bust out the chairs, weber grill, keggers, boom boxes, van gogh face painting gone wrong (i'm a fan), football game, vuvuzela warmups ... works best on the museum free days for the great unwashed. tip: be sure to get your parking validated before you begin.

I love art gallaries. I've been to many great gallaries around europe, one of the best things I've noticed in them is the availability of protable devices to have audio explainations of the ACTUAL stories (they cost money but if you payed for the travel...). Personally, I prefer to critically deduce as much from paintings from the facts that i know (thats my fun) but just rambling tripe to yourself seems to have no value. Iif beautiful art makes you tired, you're probably not that into art.

It's a wonderful exercise on deduction and creativity. I'm sorry for who can't find this very useful.

those who dislike may be those who think their arts are superior and worth seeing. Heh, give me a break. I did what she does in any gallery. As a painter, my first and foremost aim is to convey my topic well in my pieces, not whether the audience likes it or not. I don't care if there are few or many viewers, but if there is any, I want them to feel the strong emotions I want to express. If they don't like what they see, meh, good for them.

It's one way one can appreciate a great piece of art but I am not sure I agree with it.

I've never experienced this "affliction".

SOmeone suggested it is a exotic setup and the Girl with Pearl Earring model might not be from Europe. The other thing is Vermeer likely was looking for something special in the way she looks at you maybe even a sort of enlightment appearence.

how do you know

Why does this remind me of the movie "European Vacation"?

dude, this is cool

Well I liked the talk even if I didn't find it life-changing.

Wow!..I dig this shit...deep.

by taking the pragmatic-correspondance knowledge from the paintings and shoving it up my snatch vertically

wasn't that established in the topicality of the video ?

The hate that ppl are leaving as comments is a little absurd. It's a new way of looking at things, that's the point of TED! Not being close minded idiots!

Everything stops her in her tracks.

OMFG! Couldn't make it past 5:30... my mind hurts.

Lire aussi son roman : "La Dame à la Licorne" ..

She could. But she never claimed that these were the actual stories in the first place. She did some research, but since most of the facts were never put on record, she can always inject her own interpretation. In this case, her ideas are subjective, but her presentation was executed well.

l think she just explaining the whole movie of the girl with a pearl earing

I did the "pass through first to see what I really want to study" method at the Kimball Museum in Forth Worth when they had a show on the impressionists. The kicked me out.

Looks like the script of the movie "Girl with a Pearl Ring" to me

This talk actually provoked in me the idea to go to an art gallery, how about that.

What is wrong with people speculating pictures? Paintings are made FOR you to view, speculate, and critique. What is so wrong about what she is doing?

Corroboration ! I've always thought of the phenomenon as "Museum Coma".

I think she needed to make that more clear then if that is what she was trying to say, ted talks are about ideas, she should have explain her ideas in more detail.

I only watched until she got tired and wanted some coffee and got tired after watching all those paintings. After that, I couldn't identify.

pearl earing: its the pain of holding that pose for several days. "i'm cramping, igot a charlie horse in my neck, i can't breath, i need a pop tart.

oh wait so youre saying art is subjective? and everyone isn't going to be interested by every painting? holy shit, that's so profound bro. never thought of that. wtf? this was a real ted talk?

That's the problem with most Ted viewers; they tend to take what's being presented as it is, instead of trying to be guided by it and look past it.

I always felt like I am a terrible person for not being able to waist hours starring at pictures, but now I can go for days. And I don't even have to care about the artist's intentions, I just make sh** up.

Fascinating...sort of ironic, since the only reasons