As a jewelry maker, I always find it a challenge and an honor to have my creativity inspired by art and culture. One of my most special projects to date is the 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' jewelry collection, inspired by the famous paintings of Johannes Vermeer and specially designed for the Rijksmuseum. In this blog post I want to share with you the story behind the designs.
The Inspiration
Johannes Vermeer's masterpiece 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' is of course one of the most iconic paintings in the world. The mysterious girl and her beautiful pearl have fascinated artists and art lovers for generations. Yet, in my opinion, he also made many other beautiful paintings in which the pearl necklace plays a role in the painting. For me it was of course great to create a collection of jewelry with the pearl necklace as inspiration.
The collection
Girl with the Pearl Earrings
With the 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' I tried to capture the colors that Johannes Vermeer used. I was inspired by the yellow color of that beautiful jacket that can be seen in various paintings. I incorporated this color by providing the jewelry with a drop of yellow enamel. This can be seen above the pearl. I also made earrings with a small drop of gray-blue enamel.
Girl with the Pearl Necklace
The necklace in this collection combines a delicate silver chain with a beautiful pearl pendant and also yellow or gray-blue enamel. I tried to enhance the colors by using tourmaline stones or lemon quartz.
Girl with the Pearl Bracelet
For the bracelets I only used the tourmaline stones.
Creating the 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' collection was an intense and inspiring process. Every step, from initial design to final production, was carried out with the utmost care and attention to detail. It was important to me to capture the essence of the painting and transform it into wearable works of art.
Where to Buy?
You can view and purchase the entire 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' collection on my website or in the museum shop of the Rijksmuseum.
**Hester Zagt**
