References in other media
Which novel by Marcel Proust features a protagonist that is working on an essay?
Johannes Vermeer
In the first volume of Marcel Proust's novel "In Search of Lost Time", entitled "Swann's Way", the protagonist Charles Swann is said to be working on an extended essay concerning Vermeer's art. In addition, Vermeer's "View of Delft" features in a pivotal sequence of a later volume, "The Captive", in the same work. A Vermeer painting plays a key part of the dénouement in Agatha Christie's "After the Funeral" (1953). Susan Vreeland's novel "Girl in Hyacinthe Blue" follows eight individuals with a relationship to a painting of Vermeer. The young adult novel "Chasing Vermeer" by Blue Balliett centers around the fictitious theft of Vermeer's "A Lady Writing". J.P. Smith's novel, "The Discovery of Light", deals largely with Vermeer. The character of Barney, in Thomas Harris's novel "Hannibal" (1999), has a goal to see every Vermeer painting in the world before he dies. Tracy Chevalier's novel "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and the film of the same name (2003) are named after the painting; they present a fictional account of its creation by Vermeer and his relationship with the (equally fictional) model. The film was nominated for Oscars in cinematography, art direction, and costume design. Peter Greenaway's film "A Zed & Two Noughts" (1985) contains a plot line about an orthopedic surgeon named Van Meegeren who stages highly exact scenes from Vermeer paintings in order to paint copies of them. The Dutch composer Louis Andriessen based his opera "Writing to Vermeer" (1997–98, libretto by Peter Greenaway) on the domestic life of Vermeer. The song "No One Was Like Vermeer" from the 2008 album Because Her Beauty Is Raw and Wild by Boston singer-songwriter Jonathan Richman pays tribute to Vermeer's painstaking technique. Richman also references Vermeer in his song "Vincent Van Gogh" and both songs are frequently part of Richman's live performances. "Jan Vermeer" is a rockabilly song written by Bob Walkenhorst for his solo album "The Beginner". David Olney's song "Mister Vermeer" on his 2010 album "Dutchman's Curve" imagines Vermeer's unrequited love for the subject of Girl with a Pearl Earring. Historian Timothy Brook's "" (2007) examines six of Vermeer's paintings for evidence of world trade and globalization during the Dutch Golden Age. The 2013 documentary film "Tim's Vermeer" follows inventor Tim Jenison's examination on his theory that Vermeer used optical devices to assist in generating his realistic images