Explore Vermeer’s ‘Pearl Girl’ in incredible detail with an interactive 10 billion pixel panorama

Art photography

# art history # painting

Last year, researchers published an archive of nearly two years of analysis of Johannes Vermeer’s most recognized work of art, “Girl With a Pearl”. While their findings did not include the subject’s much sought-after identity, they did reveal that the gray background was actually a dark green curtain, and the figure had eyelashes visible only at magnification. Thanks to Emilien Leonhardt and Vincent Sabatier, of Hirox Europe, we can all study the intricacies of Vermeer’s elusive work and directly peer into the cracks in the painting with an interactive 10 billion pixel panorama.

The duo began to determine the surface finish of the iconic piece after multiple restorations, to measure the space between the fractured pigments and to elucidate the artist’s technique. Using a custom microscope, Leonhardt and Sabatier took 9,100 photographs of the painting which were then woven together into the massive panorama. It reveals details down to 4.4 microns per pixel.

Head over to the Hirox Europe site to explore the incredible intricacies of “Girl With a Pearl” in 2 and 3-D, and watch the video above for more on the technicalities of capturing tiny details. . (via Peta Pixel)

# art history # painting

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