Vermeer instead paints a portrait of Griet by herself for van Ruijven, in which Griet wears Catharina’s pearl earrings. However, Griet knows that the last maid to be painted with van Ruijven was impregnated by him, and therefore she refuses.

Pieter van Ruijven is Vermeer’s patron who requests to be painted with Griet. When the plague hits Griet’s family’s neighborhood, Agnes gets ill and dies.

The two end up getting married and having children years after Griet’s departure from the Vermeer household. He acts flirtatiously when she goes to the market to buy meat. Pieter is the butcher’s son and Griet’s suitor. Tanneke introduces Griet to her duties as a maid and has an ambivalent relationship with her, sometimes being supportive and sometimes being resentful. Tanneke is Griet’s fellow servant in the Vermeer household. Cornelia often does things to get Griet in trouble, and antagonizes her in other ways as well. Unlike Maertge, Cornelia dislikes Griet, and the two do not get along. CorneliaĬornelia is one of the two younger daughters of the Vermeer family. She and Griet are on relatively friendly terms, and they remain in contact even after Griet no longer works for the family. Maertge is the eldest daughter of the Vermeer family. Maria Thins treats Griet much better than her daughter does, and is often friendly with Griet. Maria Thins is Catharina’s mother and Johannes Vermeer’s mother-in-law. When Catharina discovers that Griet has posed for the portrait while wearing her pearl earrings, Catharina forces her to leave the household. Catharina Bolnes VermeerĬatharina Bolnes Vermeer is Johannes Vermeer’s wife, who becomes jealous of Griet after her husband takes her as his personal assistant. After his death, Griet discovers that he left her the pearl earrings she wore in his portrait in his will. He is a mysterious figure, but grows fond of Griet. He takes Griet into his household as a maid, but ends up making her his personal assistant. Johannes Vermeer is a painter based on the historical figure of the same name. Griet is presented as the girl depicted in Vermeer’s painting, 'Girl with a Pearl Earring.' Johannes Vermeer She works hard to support her family, but is eventually forced to leave the Vermeer household by Johannes Vermeer’s wife, Catharina. Griet is portrayed as intelligent, beautiful, and modest. She ends up working in the Vermeer household and soon becomes the personal assistant of Johannes Vermeer, helping him in his art studio. Griet is a sixteen-year-old girl who is forced to work as a maid due to her family’s poor financial situation.

Tracy chevalier 1999