Synopsis

Griet comes to Vermeer's home as an illiterate servant but her duties take her to the Master's studio. Here she shows an instinctive affinity with the artistic process and Vermeer arranges for them to spend more time together. His obsession with her beauty becomes obvious to Catharina, his jealous and possesive wife and her scheming mother. Caught in the middle, Griet must also deal with the lust of Vermeer's patron, Van Ruijven who agrees to continue his patronage if Vermeer will paint Griet. Thus, the servant becomes the subject of Vermeer's most famous work.