tbh, literal ages ago I read somewhere that in this painting, the woman with the pearl earring, the "pearl earring" was an "illusion" because he "didn't actually paint a pearl earring" he just "made a few strokes of paint to suggest a pearl" and this take has been living in my head rent free for probably 10 years, he didn't "make an illusion" he literally painted a fucking pearl earring, everything about painting is an illusion what you thought it was a real pearl or something holy shit