Previous
Tanneke
Van Ruijven is a wealthy and important citizen of Delft who, along with his wife, patronizes Vermeer. Despite his large art collection, Griet doesn’t think that he truly understands or appreciates what makes Vermeer such a great painter. Van Ruijven is a selfish, lustful man who ruined the reputation of one of his own maids by impregnating her, and he drew attention to their affair by having Vermeer paint them together in a scene. He gropes and attempts to sexually assault Griet several times and commissions Vermeer to paint a portrait of her for him.
Van Ruijven Quotes in Girl with a Pearl Earring
The Girl with a Pearl Earring quotes below are all either spoken by Van Ruijven or refer to Van Ruijven. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 2: 1665 Quotes
“Oh yes, that story went all around the Meat Hall,” he answered, chuckling. […] “It was several years ago now. It seems van Ruijven wanted one of his kitchen maids to sit for a painting with him. They dressed her in one of his wife’s gowns, a red one, and van Ruijven made sure there was wine in the painting so he could get her to drink every time they sat together. Sure enough, before the painting was finished she was carrying van Ruijven’s child.”
“What happened to her?”
Pieter shrugged, “What happens to girls like that?”
His words froze my blood. Of course I had heard such stories before, but never one so close to me. I thought about my dreams of wearing Catharina’s clothes, of van Ruijven grasping my chin in the hallway, of him saying “You should paint her” to my master.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
He listened carefully. When I finished he declared, “You see, we’re not so different, with the attentions we’ve had from those above us.”
“But I haven’t responded to van Ruijven, and have no intentions to.”
“I didn’t mean van Ruijven,” Frans said, his look suddenly sly. “No, not him. I meant your master.”
“What about my master?” I cried.
Frans smiled, “Now, Griet, don’t work yourself into a state.”
“Stop that! What are you suggesting? He has never—”
“He doesn’t have to. It’s clear from your face. You want him. You can hide it from our parents and your butcher man, but you can’t hide it from me. I know you better than that.”
He did. He did know me better.
I opened my mouth but no words came out.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3: 1666 Quotes
“You watch out for yourself, my dear.”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“You must know that he’s painting you to satisfy van Ruijven. Van Ruijven’s interest in you has made your master protective of you.”
I nodded, secretly pleased to hear what I had suspected.
“Do not get caught in their battle. You could be hurt.”
[…] “I do not think he would ever hurt me, sir.”
“Tell me, my dear, how much do you know of men?”
[…] I did not answer.
“He is an exceptional man,” van Leeuwenhoek continued. “His eyes are worth a roomful of gold. But sometimes he sees the world only as he wants it to be, not as it is. He does not understand the consequences for others of his point of view. He thinks only of himself and his work, not of you.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Girl with a Pearl Earring LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Van Ruijven Character Timeline in Girl with a Pearl Earring
The timeline below shows where the character Van Ruijven appears in Girl with a Pearl Earring. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1: 1664
...a guest—a plump man with a long white feather in his hat (later identified as van Ruijven )—upstairs in the studio. In the evening, Tanneke and Griet eat a simple meal with...
(full context)
...she doesn’t hear Maria Thins enter the studio. Maria tells Griet it's a portrait of van Ruijven ’s wife and watches as the girl slowly takes in all the portrait’s details. Eventually,...
(full context)
...which is off-limits to everyone else. Tanneke tells Griet that she modeled for Vermeer once— van Ruijven bought the piece—and Griet uses the opening to get back into her good graces with...
(full context)
...attention, Griet struggles to meet his eyes. She wishes she had the self-possession she imagines van Ruijven ’s wife—the subject of Vermeer’s current painting—has. This grand lady herself comes to the studio...
(full context)
...she unlocks the studio door, Maria Thins tells Griet to clear out the corner where van Ruijven ’s wife had posed for the painting. Vermeer no longer needs the props laid out...
(full context)
That afternoon, van Ruijven and his wife come to see the finished product. Tanneke and Griet sit mending lace...
(full context)
...Catharina, dressed in a splendid dress and the yellow mantle pearls given to her by van Ruijven ’s wife, circulates among the guests, animated and happy. Vermeer keeps to the periphery, comfortable...
(full context)
Chapter 2: 1665
...regrets that such a fine painting will go to the baker; she could have charged van Ruijven more for it. But the baker—a jolly and kindhearted man—loves it when he and his...
(full context)
It’s more than two months before Vermeer begins his next painting, a commission from van Ruijven , who wants a new portrait of his wife. But this time, he wants her...
(full context)
...to see Vermeer setting up his next painting. She’s in the attic grinding pigments when van Ruijven ’s wife arrives for her first modeling session. She will be sitting at a table,...
(full context)
...colors in the attic, and Vermeer calls her down to sit in the place of van Ruijven ’s wife while they adjust it. Van Leeuwenhoek, a man with kindly eyes, greets her...
(full context)
...conversation. Maria asks Vermeer about his plans for work—he has almost finished the portrait of van Ruijven ’s wife—and presses him to suggest that van Ruijven commission a larger painting with multiple...
(full context)
When van Ruijven and his wife arrive to see the finished portrait, Griet sets up the studio for...
(full context)
...pained and shoots angry glances at an impervious Maria Thins. Van Leeuwenhoek looks confused. Only van Ruijven seems delighted to see Griet, whom he gropes when she comes near enough. Tanneke does...
(full context)
On Sunday, Griet’s mother confronts her about the rumors that van Ruijven has commissioned another painting from Vermeer and that Griet will be one of its subjects....
(full context)
...in the painting, but Pieter reminds her how poor and powerless she is compared to van Ruijven , who has the upper hand in any interaction. Griet accuses Pieter of assuming she...
(full context)
...him, she knows deep down that neither Maria nor Vermeer will be able to refuse van Ruijven .
(full context)
...and mostly unnecessary errands to run, trying to keep her out of the house when van Ruijven arrives. She also allows Griet to stop for a visit with her parents. This surprises...
(full context)
When the models— van Ruijven , his sister, and one of his daughters—come again, Maria Thins sends Griet out on...
(full context)
On her way back to the house, Griet passes van Ruijven and Vermeer in the street. She moves so that she will pass nearer to the...
(full context)
Chapter 3: 1666
...wants to paint her. But she doesn’t, describing the concert painting instead. Vermeer must position van Ruijven with his back facing out to disguise the fact that he barely knows how to...
(full context)
...Vermeer his camera obscura, he tries to warn Griet about the precarity of her situation. Van Ruijven ’s interests aren’t honorable, but neither are Vermeer’s, in whom van Ruijven’s interest has provoked...
(full context)
...that she will discover the pair in the studio or see the painting itself. But van Ruijven drops continual hints about his secret commission. When Griet overhears them, she tells Maria Thins,...
(full context)
...unsatisfied as the portrait nears completion. Finally, one day he declares it good enough for van Ruijven , but not himself. He allows Griet to look for the first time at the...
(full context)
...He will not stop working on the painting until he thinks it’s complete—regardless of what van Ruijven will think.
(full context)
...can hide it in her cap during the day. It’s throbbing on the day when van Ruijven catches her alone in the courtyard, pushes her up against a wall, and tries to...
(full context)
...18th birthday, Griet cleans the studio as usual. Vermeer has completed the concert painting, and van Ruijven will soon come to collect it. She knows that the multi-subject painting costs more, but...
(full context)
...in any of the many directions it points: to her parents’ house, to Pieter, to van Ruijven , to beg pity from van Leeuwenhoek, to Rotterdam in search of Frans, to the...
(full context)
Chapter 4: 1676
...in to announce Griet’s arrival, then confides that he recognizes her from her portrait, which van Ruijven loaned to Vermeer shortly before his death. Maria Thins crosses the threshold as Franciscus makes...
(full context)
