Fig. 1

Existing documentation visualising the surface topography of ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’. a Raking light photography is traditionally used to emphasise the topographical variations of the surface, visualising cracks and other unevenness of the surface (Courtesy of René Gerritsen Art & Research Photography). b The crack pattern of the painting was documented by manually tracing the cracks onto a transparent polyester film, placed on the painting (Courtesy of Jørgen Wadum [4]). The red inserts show an enlargement of the area around the pearl earring