Johannes Vermeer

This individual is the painter who made the painting that is the center of The Girl in Hyacinth Blue. He appears in the final two chapters, where he is agonizing over how he will make enough money with his paintings to support his family. He is mesmerized by his daughter’s face, and wants to paint it honestly, without sentimentality, to capture the searching look she has.

Magdalena

This character is an artist’s daughter, and the subject of the painting of The Girl in Hyacinth Blue. She is a dreamy child, highly sympathetic with her father, and aware of the richness of life in an uncommon way. Although this character wants to be a painter, she never ends up realizing that dream and instead gets married and remains swamped by housework all her life. She tries to buy the painting her father made of her, but...