Pearls have always been my favorite ornament. Pearl is elegant, but it is changeable. Different ways of wearing can bring different feelings. It can be noble, light and luxurious. I have seen many paintings in recent years, and found that there are many pearl ornaments in western paintings, and pearls have long been an indispensable ornament from the middle class to the nobility. Now let's look at the pearls in western paintings and the stories behind them.

The first picture is a famous girl wearing pearl earrings, which is the masterpiece of my favorite painter Vermeer:

The pearls in the picture below should all be real ~ ~ ~

I saw the last one in uffizi gallery, Florence. At first glance, I feel temperament like Raphael's painting style. I took a closer look, and it was! Thinking that the original works of the three masters of the Renaissance are rare (the Mona Lisa in the Louvre is 20 meters away recently), I couldn't help but gather together and take a closer look and see this big pearl on my chest:

After Raphael, let's talk about Raphael's teacher Perrucci Nuo. His Portrait of a Lady stands out among a series of long galleries in uffizi Gallery. The woman in the painting has fair skin, dignified facial features and a red skirt, which is very solemn and noble. The pearl necklace and thin pleated collar on her chest are exquisite. If the pearl is big enough, it will be used as a pendant; If it is smaller, use it as a necklace with other pendants;

The following picture of the Duchess and Duke of urbino's Dip in Tycoon by Francesca is the most famous portrait of the Renaissance. I don't understand why such ugliness is always surrounded by people in Uffizi Gallery. Later, I learned that this painting represents the watershed between humanity and divinity in the portrait. Previous portraits have no taste, and this painting has no religious significance at all. We can see the wealth and dignity of the couple in the painting. Well, although the duchess is not a beauty, the pearl necklace she wears is quite distinctive:

After enjoying the single item, let's take a look at the three-piece set. The picture below is on display at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The author is Sofonisba Anguissola, a female painter, who initiated the female artists and was Michelangelo's female disciple. There is a saying that a woman can't have more than three kinds of jewelry. There are only three kinds of pearl necklaces, earrings and headdresses in the painting, all belonging to the same series:

Besides being worn directly, pearls can also be decorated on hats. I especially like the picture below. When I first saw it in tretyakov Art Museum, I was shocked! I once wrote an article for this painting alone, and felt that it was not well written, and no word was worthy of the feeling conveyed by this painting. It's amazing, but now look at the pearls on the hat, which are still very fashionable:

Next, enjoy a few "catwalk models", which are very luxurious and only suitable for catwalk or very grand occasions. Franz Xaver Winterhalter is a German painter. He used to be a full-time court painter in many big European countries, and painted countless princes and nobles in his life. There are several of his works in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, all of which are gorgeous, noble and elegant, and very particular. The way these long strings of pearls are worn really makes jewelers feel sorry for themselves:

In addition to those noble women, there is an extremely noble queen Elizabeth I, who is famous for her crazy love for pearls. Take a portrait and feel it:

Do rich working-class girls have a chance to wear pearls? Look at Rembrandt's works:

Ok, that's all for the time being. In fact, I didn't expect to write an article about pearls, and I found this theme after reading too much. Recently, I have been reading Part by Chen Danqing, and I have some feelings about Unknown Works by Famous Painters and Unknown Painters. Those masterpieces are talked too much and overheated, and the beauty of art history lies in those unknown but irreplaceable details and moments. Yes, every time I visit an art gallery, I go for the most famous works, but every time I am "bumped" by some less famous works halfway.

Writing here suddenly raised a question, why didn't our ancient paintings in China reveal pearls? I've been looking for pearls for a long time. My country's love for pearls began in ancient times, but few people painted them. There are several portraits of the Empress of the Song Dynasty with pearls:

I guess with my very shallow knowledge, it should be due to the fact that China's ancient paintings were mainly freehand brushwork, in artistic conception, not in essence. I have little research on Chinese painting now, and I am in a state where the door has not yet stepped out. I look forward to practicing slowly.

Xiao Yi, a Gemini, shares beautiful paintings with you.