> the young woman in the painting... isn't even real There is some evidence that Vermeer could have been using optical tools to create his photo-realistic pain

> the young woman in the painting... isn't even real There is some evidence that Vermeer could have been using optical tools to create his photo-realistic paintings. If so, she would have been a real person, as that is how the technique is imagined to work - use an optical apparatus that allows you to see your painting and the subject in the same view, and then paint so that they blend into each other. A pretty cool documentary was made about this called Tim's Vermeer[1] (starring Tim Jenison and directed by Penn & Teller), and led to an installation at the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in Hobart, Tasmania. Really interesting, and well worth experiencing both! [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim%27s_Vermeer https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim%27s_Vermeer