Jan Vermeer, "Woman with a Pearl Necklace", c. 1662; from Siri Hustvedt's "Mysteries of the rectangle": the window is so close to the mirror, and its light is so clear and dominant on the canvas, that whether she is transfixed by the mirror or by the window isn’t entirely clear. My first impression of the painting was that she was looking at the window, although the longer I looked at it, the less sure I became.
















