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BIRTHDAY CARD: AI depiction of Beverly Van Pelt as “Bev with the Pearl Earring” next to the portrait of “Girl with the Pearl Earring”
For my birthday, I received this surprising and lovely card from my surprising and lovely inlaws. It was immediately recognizable as the “Girl with the Pearl Earring” with a youthful AI rendition of me in place of the girl. I don't look like the Dutch girl but I look like I belong in this portrait.
My love of history is strong and I am so honored to imagine myself like this - a Dutch girl in the mid-1600s - significant as my father's Dutch ancestors arrived in New Utrecht in the mid-1660s. To place myself in this context is truly a moment of reflection - a gift.
The inlaws got the idea from watch the documentary TIM'S VERMEER, a Penn & Teller Production. When I visited, we all sat down to watch this fantastic film and discuss Tim's multi-year process. I need to get this on DVD.
Here is the photo of the original “Girl with the Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer.
“Girl with the Pearl Earring” by Johannes Vermeer circa 1665
Quoted from Sony Classics Website:
Tim's Vermeer
A Penn & Teller Film
Produced by Penn Jillette, 2013
Tim Jenison, a Texas based inventor, attempts to solve one of the greatest mysteries in all art: How did 17th century Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer ("Girl with a Pearl Earring") manage to paint so photo-realistically -- 150 years before the invention of photography? The epic research project Jenison embarks on to test his theory is as extraordinary as what he discovers.
Spanning eight years, Jenison's adventure takes him to Delft, Holland, where Vermeer painted his masterpieces, on a pilgrimage to the North coast of Yorkshire to meet artist David Hockney, and even to Buckingham Palace to see a Vermeer masterpiece in the collection of the Queen.
https://www.sonyclassics.com/timsvermeer/
Beverly Van Pelt
May 27, 2025