View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-is-vermeer-s-girl-with-the-pearl-earring-considered-a-masterpiece-james-earle

Is she turning towards you or away from you? No one can agree. She’s the subject of Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer’s "Girl with the Pearl Earring," a painting often referred to as the ‘Mona Lisa of the North.’ But what makes this painting so captivating? James Earle explains how this work represents the birth of a modern perspective on economics, politics, and love.

Lesson by James Earle, animation by Tess Martin.