The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC has revealed that a painting attributed to Johannes Vermeer was not actually painted by the Dutch master.
Girl with a Flute, a 17th-century work depicting a small figure holding the musical instrument, was instead probably made by someone who studied under Vermeer as an apprentice, the National Gallery said in a Press release on Friday.
The discovery was made as researchers used the museum’s COVID-related closures to examine their four paintings by and attributed to Vermeer, which are rarely seen, especially at the same time.
The authenticity of two paintings, Girl with a Flute and Girl with a Red Hat, has long been questioned, as they are the only two in the collection done on wood panels. It was confirmed, and four paintings in the collection are now three.
The new findings were released just one day before the Vermeer’s Secrets exhibition opens on October 8.
Girl with a Flute, which depicts a small figure holding the musical instrument, was probably made by someone who studied under Vermeer, as an apprentice
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC revealed on Friday that a painting attributed to Johannes Vermeer (pictured) was not actually painted by the Dutch master
Vermeer, whose Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of his most famous works, also has other masterpieces that are among the most famous paintings in the world.
It has long been assumed that Vermeer worked alone, as there have been no surviving documents to provide evidence of a workshop, nor records of registered pupils and no mention of assistants in the notes of visitors to Vermeer’s studio, the gallery said. Until now.
‘The existence of other artists working with Johannes Vermeer is perhaps one of the most significant new discoveries about the artist to have been discovered in decades. It fundamentally changes our understanding of Vermeer,’ said Kaywin Feldman, director of the National Gallery of Art.
‘I am incredibly proud of the interdisciplinary team of National Gallery staff who worked together to study these paintings, building on decades of research and using advanced scientific technology to uncover exciting discoveries that add new insights to what we know about the enigmatic artist.’
Curators and scientists used the COVID-related museum closures and new technology to make the discovery.
The team compared Girl with a Flute to Vermeer’s Girl with the Red Hat – long assumed to be a pair due to similarities in subject matter, size and use of a wood panel support – unusual for Vermeer.
The team compared Girl with a Flute to Vermeer’s Girl with the Red Hat – long assumed to be a pair due to similarities and use of a wood panel support – unusual for Vermeer
Vermeer, whose Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of his most famous works, also has other masterpieces that are among the most famous paintings in the world
However, the application of paint in Girl with a Flute is very different from Girl with the Red Hat, and while it does not lack the precision for which Vermeer is known, it seems that the artist does not have Vermeer’s control, the gallery stated .
The brushwork of Girl with a Flute is awkward, the gallery explained, and the pigments used in the final paint are roughly ground, giving the surface an almost granular character.
While the results clearly show that although Vermeer did not paint Girl with a Flute, the artist who did was intimately familiar with his unique working methods, the gallery stated.
The research team also concluded that Vermeer most likely painted ‘Girl With the Red Hat’ a few years later than previously thought, during a period when he was experimenting with new colors and slightly bolder paint.
While the results clearly show that although Vermeer did not paint Girl with a Flute, the artist who did was intimately familiar with his unique working methods, the gallery stated
The exhibition also includes two 20th-century forgeries, The Lacemaker (c.1925) and The Smiling Girl (c.1925), which were attributed to Vermeer when they first entered the museum’s collection in 1937 as part of Andrew Mellon’s original bequest, but was later determined not to be by the artist
Research also led curators to determine that Vermeer’s Girl with the Red Hat was made at a turning point in the artist’s career, according to the release.
The painting shows Vermeer experimenting with new techniques—vibrant colors, a bolder way of applying the paint—that predates paintings produced in the final phase of his career.
The new research also led the team to recognize Girl with the Red Hat as a key work that points to Vermeer’s late style.
Marjorie E. Wieseman, Curator and Head of the Department of Northern European Paintings, Alexandra Libby, Associate Curator in the Department of Northern European Paintings, E. Melanie Gifford, Retired Research Conservator of Painting Technology, and Dina Anchin, Associate Conservator of Paintings, determined that Girl with the Red Hat represents a turning point in Vermeer’s career.
They point to this work as the artist’s experiment: the moment when he began to paint his final picture with a schematic representation of forms and exaggerated contrasts of dark and light – features that he had previously limited to the underpainting, but which came to characterize his tendon. style.
The National Gallery’s senior imaging scientist John K. Delaney, imaging scientist Kathryn A. Dooley and retired conservation scientist Lisha Deming Glinsman were also able to create clearer images of the portrait of a man beneath the Girl with the Red Hat, first discovered in an X-ray taken in the early 1970s.
A better understanding of how the man was painted, and some of the pigments used, was obtained with reflectance and X-ray fluorescence imaging spectroscopies.
Specifically, using X-ray fluorescence imaging spectroscopy, the researchers mapped the use of pigments that contain the chemical element lead in the composition.
By processing the image to minimize materials present in the visible surface layer, they produced an image that clearly reveals details of the man’s wide-brimmed hat, long hair, white collar and billowing cloak.
Vermeer’s Secrets exhibition at the National Gallery of Art
Vermeer’s Secrets gives visitors an insight into how the National Gallery’s curators, conservators and scientists work together to understand artists’ techniques, materials and processes.
The exhibition also includes two 20th-century forgeries, The Lacemaker (c.1925) and The Smiling Girl (c.1925), which were attributed to Vermeer when they first entered the museum’s collection in 1937 as part of Andrew Mellon’s original bequest, but was later determined not to be by the artist.
The juxtaposition of these two 20th-century works and the 17th-century Girl with a Flute of paintings firmly attributed to the Dutch artist – Woman Holding a Balance (c. 1664), A Lady Writing (c. 1665 ) and Girl with the Red Hat (ca. 1669)—will show how curators draw on research from a range of disciplines to evaluate works of art, determine attributions, and understand the qualities that make a Vermeer a Vermeer.