The macro-X-ray fluorescence scanner is switched on by Head Researcher Abbie Vandivere and Annelies van Loon of the Mauritshuis in The Hague. Over the next few days, Vermeer’s painting Girl with a Pearl Earring (c. 1665) will be scanned millimetre by millimetre. This MA-XRF scan marks the beginning of The Girl in the Spotlight: a joint project within the framework of the Netherlands Institute for Conservation, Art and Science (NICAS). From 26 February until 11 March 2018, an international team of researchers from partner institutions Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Delft University of Technology, the University of Antwerp and Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands (RCE) will carefully examine the painting using state-of-the-art scientific techniques. The research will be conducted in the Golden Room of the Mauritshuis, so this is a unique opportunity for visitors to the museum to watch the work-in-progress live during the museum’s opening hours.