Mauritshuis Launches Contest to Fill Vermeer's Empty Frame

The Mauritshuis museum in The Hague has launched a contest called 'My Girl with a Pearl' to temporarily replace Jan Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' while it is on loan to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam for a major Vermeer exhibition starting February 10, 2023. The museum invited visitors, fans, and followers to submit their own creative versions of the iconic painting, which will be displayed in a digital frame in the empty gallery from February 6 until the painting returns. The museum has received numerous submissions, shared on Instagram via #mygirlwithapearl, ranging from tuna cans to makeup looks to still lifes. The initiative celebrates the painting's status as a cultural icon and the creativity of its admirers.