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108B Pixel Scan of Johannes Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring
- AStonesThrow 1y ago[flagged]
- mrandish 1y ago> 3D AI girlfriend... based on the 2003 film Unexpected cross-movie tie-in: Scarlett Johansson, who played the Girl with the Pearl Earring in the 2003 film, also played the AI girlfriend in the film "Her".
- WalterBright 1y agoAh, so beautiful!
- bombcar 1y agoWhy does "Details 90x" seem to zoom in more than "Details 140x"?
- pfedak 1y agoThe main image is all at the same 90x level, and those buttons just zoom in (more or less) all the way on the points, while the "140x" are separate scan patches at higher magnification (though the real point is they have 3D/height data, too).
- diego_moita 1y agoSaw this picture at the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague. There are a couple funny things about it: * It is surprisingly small * It is kinda "fuzzy" or "blurry", you can't detect too much brushwork. * It is very expressive But my favorite Vermeer is not this, it is View of Delft, also in the Mauritshuis. The colors, hues and textures on it are just amazing. For Brazilians, a funny curiosity: Mauritshuis means House of Maurice. It is really the former residence of Maurice of Nassau (Maurício de Nassau), the governor of the Dutch colonies in Brazil. This museum also have some interesting works by Rugendas and other painters showing life in colonial Brazil and a very cool collection of puppets made with bread paste showing life in colonial Indonesia. The Mauritshuis is a very good reason to visit The Hague. If you go there take a walk to the M.C. Escher museum too.
- djsavvy 1y agoWow, View of Delft is beautiful! https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Vermeer-view-of-delft.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Vermeer-...
- bzhang255 1y agoI feel obliged to point anyone interested to Proust on Vermeer: https://www.essentialvermeer.com/proust/proust.html https://www.essentialvermeer.com/proust/proust.html
- anigbrowl 1y agoIt's worth a visit if you're in the Netherlands. Large parts of the town are the same as they've been for centuries.
- technothrasher 1y agoMy favorite is The Little Street. (https://www.johannesvermeer.org/the-little-street.jsp https://www.johannesvermeer.org/the-little-street.jsp). I just love the quiet calmness of it. I had a copy of it made from one of those cheap Asian oil painting places online (the frame I put it in cost me more than the painting!), and was surprised what a good job the artist did. When I went to Amsterdam a few years ago, I made a point to go see the real one. But I wondered how well I'd visually remember my copy in order to make a direct comparison to the actual painting. I remembered well enough to be blown away by the real one. As pleased as I am with me copy, it's definitely not the same.
- joejoo 1y ago[flagged]
- lubujackson 1y agoI highly recommend the movie "Tim's Vermeer" about the likelihood that Vermeer used something like a lightbox to paint his paintings. Specifically, his ability to reproduce light and color is unmatched while he only had basic training as a painter and never let anyone see him work. A fascinating engineering problem to deduce how he might have accomplished this.
- diego_moita 1y agoIt isn't a bad hypothesis. Many people speculate that the model for the "The Astronomer" and "The Geographer" was Leeuwenhoek, the creator of the first microscope. He was a close friend of Vermeer. And the use of devices for helping in drawing was actually quite common in those times. Durer and Da Vinci made drawings showing these kind of devices.
- noufalibrahim 1y agoIt's a great science documentary though. His obsession, how he works towards it and the emotional effect the whole project has on him. Worth watching regardless of your opinion on the hypothesis.
- dewarrn1 1y agoIt's an appealing hypothesis, but there's some compelling evidence to the contrary [0]. I'm not an expert, but this could potentially fall under the heading of pop history or pseudohistory. [0] https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4707 https://skeptoid.com/episodes/4707
- otherayden 1y agoAnyone know what they’re using to render this? Something like map tiles?
- jer0me 1y agoYes. This site seems to be using https://krpano.com https://krpano.com, but https://openseadragon.github.io/ https://openseadragon.github.io/ is an open-source alternative. The New York Times has used the latter for features like this one: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/26/world/europe/pope-francis-funeral-attendees-photo.html https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/26/world/europe/...
- gblargg 1y agoProps to them for not locking out older browsers as many sites are doing these days.
- cgriswald 1y agoWhen viewing this I was captivated by the girl's lips. In the full view, the bottom lip looks not just full and moist, but slightly wet. Zooming in, it's a bit of a muddy mess with only a splash of white giving definition to the (anatomical) left of the girl's mouth. In my current incarnation I'm a fledgling novelist and one of the things I've learned is to trust the audience to 'fill in the gaps'. Although this is probably obvious already to many, the parallel between that and the way that we sort of do that when we look at paintings suddenly hit me.
- userbinator 1y agoZooming in, it's a bit of a muddy mess The analog equivalent of pixelation.
- cgriswald 1y agoIt's like touching it with your eye, without the pain. I love the future.
- HideousKojima 1y agoIt's like the museum scene from Ferris Bueller's Day Off when Cameron is staring super intently at the painting
- jychang 1y agoMore like the analog version of doing a FTT and looking at only the high frequency parts vs the low frequency parts.
- drob518 1y agoYep, I noticed the same thing and came to a similar realization.
- cmehdy 1y agoWe think that everything is made of things but we forget that everything is mostly made of nothing, and it's the gaps between things that make it all be. See also: atomic size vs distance between atoms in any structure, on perceptual levels the visual saccadic movement and how much the brain fills in the gaps. Nothing is quite something after all.
- djmips 1y agoI was immediately drawn to the faint text in the upper left. Meer I could read but it's the artist's signature. https://www.essentialvermeer.com/references/signatures/facsimile-2017/earring.jpg https://www.essentialvermeer.com/references/signatures/facsi...
- MaxRegret 1y agoSteve Mould just released a video about the microscopy technique that was used to capture this 3D relief of the painting: https://youtu.be/o-dZKBwbsis https://youtu.be/o-dZKBwbsis
- petargyurov 1y agoThe microscope used for this is mind blowing. Falls squarely into the list of things I want but do not need.
- justsid 1y agoAfter watching the video I was trying to find out just how much one of those microscopes cost. Couldn’t find a price anywhere so I’m assuming it’s far out of my budget. But this kind of video is probably the greatest kind of ad there is, just genuinely showing how cool something is. Don’t have a use for it either though, but I would love to have one anyways.
- internetter 1y agoSeems like a fun DIY project. Take an off the shelf digital microscope and attach motors!
- j_bum 1y agoI want one so badly, some of that footage is just unreal My first guess was that it’s a clean $30k. Now I’m going to add a digit and guess $100k.
- frainfreeze 1y agoWas it the same approach? The 3D relief has artifacts akin to ones produced by heightmaps
- artimaeis 1y agoClick the "3D" button on the bottom-center toolbar to see the 3D scan artifact.
- Hobadee 1y agoCrap quality; I can't make out the individual atoms.
- tehjoker 1y agoI half expected it to proceed to optical light microscopy or even scanning electron microscopy but the latter would have toasted the painting with radiation damage.
- chrismcb 1y agoI'm amazed at how fast this is.
- tehjoker 1y agoIt's like Google Maps. I didn't look under the cover but typically the way these things work is there's a resolution hierarchy and it loads bits dynamically as you zoom in. The zoom here is a bit slow (it doesn't let you slam into the painting at warp speed) so there is likely a bit of latency hiding as it loads high res tiles.
- londons_explore 1y agoThe trick to make it super fast is to predict where the user might be viewing 1 second from now. If an animation is in progress, that's an easy prediction. If the user is using a mouse, they'll generally scroll or pan but not both. If the user is on a touch screen, again the gestures are limited. When you have your predictions, you start loading the those things.
- psychoslave 1y agoI'm not versed enough in history of art to fully appreciate this painting and how it became so popular, could someone point me to some resources to improve my culture on the matter? Thanks in advance for any reply
- conductr 1y agoThe artist is well known for his use of light/shadow in his works and is probably going to be the first bullet on any list. Also known for expensive pigments, an unknown style/methods , and being sloppy but extremely detailed depending on your vantage / distance. Zooming in on this one will highlight that
- happyraul 1y agoI can recommend The Story of Art: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Art https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Art
- BrandoElFollito 1y agoThank you too from me. Ideally a youtube channel or channels
- archiepeach 1y agoI very recently created an app that helps people learn art history. https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/for-arts-sake/id6744744230 https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/for-arts-sake/id6744744230 It’s a first version, and there’s a lot more content and features to come, but it’s actually already taught me so much making it!
- sn0wleppard 1y agoJohn Berger's Ways of Seeing, I think it's all on youtube. There's also a book adaptation though I've not read that
- geuis 1y agoThis painting really needs some Baumgartner intervention. There are hints of overpainting around the right eye (left side facing us). Background plus eyebrow. Too smooth, doesn't have the same crackle as the rest of the painting. The veneer may be quite yellowed. Looking at the cloth on the top of the head over the blue fabric. Might originally be a bright white, but now appears yellowed due to exposure of the last veneer aging and yellowing under UV light.
- BrandoElFollito 1y agoA man of culture I see :) I watch his restorations with onesie, but his narrative (when it's not technical) is tiring because it wants to be fancy but it sounds fake to me. His technical work looks great to me, I have no idea about conservation outside his videos. I heard that he got a lot of hate from conservators (which I do not understand) and actively fought critical comments on his videos (which I find petty). It's been two weeks he has not uploaded anything and it is annoying :) BTW I also watch cow hoof trimming and always wondered how many people have such weird lists of videos (art, hoof trimming, software dev, history, action movies, science, cooking, middle age, tables building, ...) - some I do a lit, some not (I saw a cow live twice)
- atombender 1y agoMy layperson's understanding regarding the criticisms against Julian Baumgartner is that he uses a lot of invasive methods that don't meet the strict technical standards employed by professional conservators, and this creates a misleading impression of what conservation actually is. For example, you will frequently see Baumgartner do over- and in-painting of fairly large areas that have been lost. Modern conservation has slowly evolved to distance itself from mere restoration; the objective of conservators who work for museums or major collections is to only apply non-invasive procedures that can bring the artwork closer to its original state (e.g. grime removal) and shore up the structural integrity of the physical object to preserve it, but without adding anything non-original if possible. Baumgartner claims that all his changes are reversible, but you still see him prying lacquer off with a scalpel, completely replacing the wood of wood-panel paintings, and many other techniques that cast doubt on those claims. I'm not a professional, so I can't judge whether all of this is accurate, but I find the drama fascinating. In the field of conservation, Baumgartner is an outsider, as he mentored under his father rather than study conservation in an academic setting. Baumgartner's videos look absolutely world-class, but he probably wouldn't meet the bar for qualifications imposed by major museums, which typically require a postgraduate degree in conservation, including formal training in chemistry. So there's probably an element of disdain for amateurs to the criticism, as well. To be clear, what Baumgartner does is probably perfectly acceptable for many artworks, where the owner's directive is to restore the artwork back to what it may have looked like when it was made. But I'm not sure he should touch a Vermeer.
- perks_12 1y agoThe company behind this has a making of on YouTube: https://youtu.be/j_MvpMlgfwI?si=mK9LWleFBE8r_saz https://youtu.be/j_MvpMlgfwI?si=mK9LWleFBE8r_saz
- koliber 1y agoWhen you zoom in on the cracks, you can see the bevel on the edge of the crack. That’s incredible. In many places on the edges of the cracks in the dark background you can see tinges of blue or pink color. Is that from the lighting, or is the color actually there, if it is there, anyone have an idea why?
- flir 1y agoI think I can see a repair on the left cheek? Line of lighter "filler" that seens to follow a crack?
- spyder 1y agoAlso at many places the cracks seems to be overpainted, filled in. I guess that's from the restorations... I just looked it up and there is a picture from an analysis where they are showing its possible state before the restoration: https://media.springernature.com/lw685/springer-static/image/art%3A10.1186%2Fs40494-019-0307-5/MediaObjects/40494_2019_307_Fig6_HTML.jpg?as=webp https://media.springernature.com/lw685/springer-static/image... "In UV fluorescence, the natural resin varnish layer fluoresces greenish, and areas retouched in 1994 can be distinguished from the original paint as they appear darker" The full paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s40494-019-0307-5 https://www.nature.com/articles/s40494-019-0307-5
- padjo 1y agoI thought it was cool. Then I saw the 3D button!
- fscaramuzza 1y agoThere are plenty of these here :) https://artsandculture.google.com/search/asset?project=art-camera https://artsandculture.google.com/search/asset?project=art-c...
- xnx 1y agoThere's a cool tool for downloading from there that I've used to make high quality prints: https://dezoomify.ophir.dev/ https://dezoomify.ophir.dev/
- roflmaostc 1y agoThere is a company doing the same for microscopy. Super large scale images of anything in the centimeter scale. https://gallery.ramonaoptics.com/gallery https://gallery.ramonaoptics.com/gallery
- lvl155 1y agoAny work related to deconstructing these classic paintings? I’ve been thinking about an AI project where you basically analyze paintings based on brush strokes. The end result would be an animation of painting from blank canvas to completion.
- quantadev 1y agoI knew everyone would immediately zoom into her mouth! If you look at the 3D view of it at a low angle it looks like the surface of Mars. Amazing.
- lerp-io 1y agoneeds a paintjob, its all chipping away
- CodeCompost 1y agoWhen I visited the Mauritshuis when they were scanning it I managed to spot something looking like a Solaris workstation next to the scanner. I was kinda surprised to see it...
- Freak_NL 1y agoIt's a beautiful painting. I also can't stand the sight of it. It has been abused as a kitchy backdrop on so much tat and assorted items — including wheelie bins, recycling bins, garden fences, pillows, phone covers, and posters — to such an extent that it just oozes bad taste by implication. Poor girl.
- louthy 1y agoI'm assuming you're in the Netherlands based on your NL suffix. Outside of the Netherlands it's rarely seen and so hasn't had the quite the abuse you state. I still think it's an absolutely stunning work of art (regardless of whether Vermeer used camera-obscura or not).
- eviks 1y agoIs there a similarly detailed remastered version without all those cracks?
- Oarch 1y agoThis is nowhere near enough pixels. I want at least trillion. Go back and try again!
- todotask2 1y agoThe painting is now like a Google maps.
- elcid60 1y agoWell at this resolution we see that is an erotic picture.
- joe8756438 1y agoProjects like this are fascinating for reasons, I guess, unintentional to their creators. Is what you can see at this level of detail helping anyone understand the painting? Someone thinks so. So what do we now know?
- WindyMiller 1y agoI think projects like this help you develop a felt understanding of the painting as a unique physical artifact that is not fully reproduced by prints or scans.
- MSFT_Edging 1y agoI now know there are somewhat rectangular 1mm length fibers embedded in the paint of this work. A secret only art preservationists knew prior.
- mindvirus 1y agoAmazing, I feel like I'm zooming in to some alien city. I'm sure people are thinking about it, but with high resolution scanning, 3D printing, etc., it feels like it should be possible to create extremely high quality reproductions of famous artwork at scale, and at a fairly reasonable cost. Is anyone working on this?
- Someone 1y agohttps://www.codart.nl/feature/museum-affairs/3d-printing-works-of-art-an-opportunity-or-nightmare-for-curators/ https://www.codart.nl/feature/museum-affairs/3d-printing-wor... https://kutluart.com/collections/all https://kutluart.com/collections/all
- mikae1 1y agoLots of folks in the GLAM sector are working on it.
- enigma101 1y agoThis is amazing!!!!
- dingdingdang 1y agoAm I the only one here who is looking for the jpg?
- ridgeguy 1y agoThis scan should preclude forgery of the work. I doubt there's a way to duplicate the crack patterns that anyone can now refer to.
- hammock 1y agoIt would be crazy set of events to lose the provenance paper trail of this piece, at this point, cracks documents or not.
- sandworm101 1y agoPaintings are not photographs. Paintings are not two-dimensional images. They are 3d sculptures that change based on light causing a million little shadows. Similarly, the paint has transparency and depth. A trillion pixels wouldn't be enough to convey the experience of actually being in the same room with such a painting.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- g42gregory 1y agoGreat tool for future artwork authentication.