By 
James Earle
 | 
TED-Ed Original

Why is Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring" considered a masterpiece?

Is she turning towards you or away from you? No one can agree. She's the subject of Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer's "Girl with the Pearl Earring" a painting often referred to as the ‘Mona Lisa of the North.' But what makes this painting so captivating? James Earle explains how this work represents the birth of a modern perspective on economics politics and love.

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