“The only color he did not allow me to handle was ultramarine. Lapis lazuli was so expensive, and the process of extracting a pure blue from the stone so difficult, that he worked with it himself” (p.108).
This quote refers to the moment Griet becomes Vermeer’s assistant. He teaches her to grid colors from bones, white lead, madder and massicot. However, the color ultramarine is the only one Vermeer doesn’t let Griet do it. The stone that the blue color is extracted from it is very expensive and the process of extracting a pure blue it is also difficult. While Griet is helping Vermeer, she feels very happy because it is the moment she can spend with him side by side in the attic.
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