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I like to see the portraits of Vermeer and Rembrandt. I'm not sure whether Rembrandt or Vermeer showed deeper emotions but the girl with the pearl earring seems alive. Sometimes the sitter's casual appearance says enough I think.
When I see this portrait by Rembrandt I see an elderly man who has difficulty sitting on the chair properly. That's how people must have known him. When I see the portrait of Gerard de Lairesse I see a young man whose face was deformed by syphilis so badly other people looked away from him, but Rembrandt knew how to portray him with a certain dignity and sympathy.
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