National Gallery of Art
News from the NOS•today, 01:11
The painting Girl with the flute, which is located at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, appears not to be by the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. This is what American scientists say after the research, various American media reports. The results will be revealed today.
It had long been doubted that the seventeenth-century work was by Vermeer, because it didn’t look good. During the crown pandemic, the Washington museum saw an opportunity to take a closer look at the work.
The museum has four works attributed to Vermeer. But laboratory research has now shown that one of those works is not by Vermeer. The other three works were also examined.
It is not clear by whom
Using modern techniques and pigment analysis, the researchers determined that the Girl with the flute clearly not by Vermeer. One of the scientists tells the New York Times that the work painted differently from Vermeer’s method. It was painted much rougher.
It is not clear who did this. He could be a student of Vermeer, but also a family member, an amateur who had taken painting lessons or a freelance artist. That person would understand Vermeer’s technique, but not his execution.
“We don’t know much either,” says Marjorie Wieseman, who participated in the study for the National Gallery. “We know nothing about who made it and under what circumstances.” However, the museum has no plans to remove the work.
The girl in the red hat
There are about thirty paintings known around the world which are attributed to Vermeer. The researchers also examined the painting The girl in the red hat, which also crashes in Washington. It was also doubted that this work was actually by Vermeer. But it turns out that it is.
Several other works by the Dutch master can be seen, among others, in the Mauritshuis in The Hague (such as the The girl with the Pearl Earring in View of Delft) and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (including the milkmaid).
