Johannes Vermeer: 'Woman with a pearl necklace' (1664-1665)

"As the woman tautly holds the ribbons of her pearl necklace, she gazes into a mirror, another object imbued with complex moralizing associations; a mirror can symbolize pride, but also truth and self-knowledge. Vermeer provides no explicit commentary about how one should interpret the scene, one of the reasons this work is so endlessly intriguing." - uit 'Vermeer: The Complete Works' door Arthur K. Wheelock Jr.