Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer de c. 1665

Johannes Vermeer was a Dutch painter known primarily for this painting, but some of you might also recognize The Milkmaid, c. 1658. This painting depicts a young woman wearing an "exotic" headdress and robe, showing off her wealth and worldliness. It's still in debate who exactly this girl was, if she even was a real person, and Vermeer himself was of absolutely no help. Less than 40 paintings have been attributed to him, and only 2 of them have dates written on them. The title "Girl with a Pearl Earring" is a misnomer, as the earring she's wearing might actually be made of tin. It used to be called "Girl with a Turban", and in some languages, it's known as "The Blue Girl".

In Legends Z-A, the Diancie painting's description says: "A painting of the Mythical Pokémon Diancie. The artist boldly eschews painting a background altogether, keeping the focus solely on Diancie. Thus, we can feel the artist's desire to emphasize that the subject transcends eras and trends."

As for the real painting, the background wasn't originally black like it is now. It was painted black, and then coated with a glaze that made it look green. That glaze has faded now. Making the girl stand out like she does wasn't exactly Vermeer's intention. The painting is focused on the girl as a person, the look in her eyes and what we can tell about her life from her clothes.

Interestingly, the two other paintings are by French artists, but this is the only one with a Pokémon from Kalos. I don't know too much about Diancie's lore, but if it's only known in Kalos, I guess that could mean the Netherlands don't exist in the Pokémon world lol.

Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son, Claude Monet 1875

Claude Monet was one of the main founders of the Impressionist movement, which focuses on the impression the subject matter gives the viewer, rather than portraying it accurately as was the norm at the time with Realism. As you can see, it's not cleanly blended, the individual brush strokes are all broken up, and rather than looking like a photograph, it only gives you the idea of what you're seeing.

The woman is Monet's first wife, Camille Doncieux, and the boy in the background is their son, Jean Monet. It's painted as if the viewer is laying down on the ground and looking up. Monet would later paint Woman with a Parasol, Facing Left in 1886, this time of his second wife's daughter. The paintings are very similar, but the original here is better known (and better, imo).

The game's description is: "A depiction of the Fruit Pokémon Tsareena and the Scarecrow Pokémon Cacturne. Some have chosen to explore the figures of Pokémon—so different than humans—in order to better understand their anatomy and to explore the nature of their hearts and minds."

Impressionism was often focused on landscapes rather than figures. If you're looking for hidden lore in these paintings, there isn't much. The original work shows a mother and son, who are replaced by a Tsareena and Cacturne, which can't be mother and son in-game. Tsareena is female only, so its offspring will always be Bounsweet. It could suggest that the painter, PokéMonet if you will, was more attached to his Tsareena than his wife. That's only if you really read into it.

Madame Charpentier and Her Children, Pierre-Auguste Renoir 1878

This is the reason I wanted to make this post, I recognized the other two pieces immediately but I couldn't quite remember the name of this one. Renoir was another Impressionist, and was friends with Monet, who he took inspiration from. But while Monet and the rest of their club were hardcore art-radicals, Renoir was more lenient, and this painting in particular was very well-received by mainstream artists and critics. It was even accepted by the Paris Salon, an art event that constantly rejected Impressionist works. Renoir preferred painting people over landscapes, but he's still one of the best examples of Impressionism.

Marguerite Charpentier was an art collector and huge fan of Impressionism, this is one of many paintings she commissioned Renoir to make of her family. Her and her two children, Georgette and Paul, are sat in their living room, the walls decorated with Japanese bamboo art. The dog's name is Porthos, he's a Newfoundland. (Makes me want to nickname a Mightyena Porthos next time they're catchable...)

I think this is my favorite in-game painting of the three, I love how many Pokémon are included. The whole Gothitelle line, Mightyena and a little Poochyena that isn't in the original, the Gossifleur, Sinistea and Polteageist replacing the bouquet and food. Then the paintings of the Unfezant, Eiscue, and what I thought was Swanna, but is actually Bombirdier. This suggests that Galarian Pokémon were around in Kalos during this time, despite the history of war. The Gothitelle must belong to a trainer from a rich family, so importing a Hoenn Mightyena isn't too crazy.

The game says: "Pokémon sharing a moment together, centered around Gothitelle. Many artists have displayed curiosity about how Pokémon would relate to each other in the absence of humans."

So, it's wondering whether more humanoid and intelligent Pokémon like Gothitelle would see Pokémon like Mightyena as animals, I guess. That's a very interesting thought. We tend to forget that some Pokémon are magical, empathetic, wise beings, and others are just. Just a dog. How would your Lucario feel about being on a team with a Magikarp? It's literally a fish it can't even communicate or anything. Do humanoid Pokémon see humans as just another species of them?

Anyways.

These are so fun, I wish there was more like this in the museum. It's interesting to me that of all the paintings they could have chosen, the three they landed on all depict a woman as the main focus, maybe that was the theme for that part of the museum.

I'd have liked to see a painting of something non-human that could be replaced by Pokémon, like Starry Night by Van Gogh with Minior, The Son of Man by Magritte with Applin, Anguish by Schenk with Dubwool and Corvisquire but that might be too much for a children's game, Water Lilies by Monet with Lotad, Sunflowers by Van Gogh with Sunflora, you get the gist. Me personally I think Pokémon fan-artists should get on that. I'm hoping and praying they add a new section to the museum in the DLC.

—pink just looks so good on us!"