Short Story Cycle: Girl in Hyacinth Blue

I recently reread The Girl in Hyacinth Blue, by Susan Vreeland (Penguin Books, 2000) to explore a structure called a short story cycle, which is a novel composed of separate but interconnected stories. The Girl in Hyacinth Blue traces the provenance and origin of a painting, which may or may not have been painted by Vermeer. Vreeland masterfully executes the short story cycle. But it takes more than just following a structure template. Below, I examine the short story cycle and other elements employed by Vreeland that contribute to this beautifully written historical novel.