US gallery doubts the authenticity of a Johannes Vermeer painting
Washington D.C.’s National Gallery of Art has revealed that one of its four paintings by Johannes Vermeer may not have been painted by Vermeer at all. Girl With a Flute, a small study depicting a figure holding a recorder, was likely painted by one of the artist’s students or someone who worked closely with him.
While National Gallery officials can only speculate as to the identity of the artist and the model they painted, the museum is now saying that they are 99% sure that the painting was produced by the “school of Vermeer” rather than Vermeer himself.
Speaking in a recent statement, Marjorie E. Wieseman, curator and head of the department of northern European paintings at the National Gallery, said: “The idea that Vermeer had a studio is not one that a lot of people have really talked about. Because he’s always been thought of as the lone genius. We only know of about three dozen paintings by him. So why would he have needed a studio?”
Curators and conservators are now able to examine Vermeer’s paintings in more detail than ever before, thanks to advanced imaging and sampling technologies. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the museum was closed to the public, allowing experts to conduct a month-long inspection of the paintings using imaging spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and microsampling analysis.
The Washinton D.C. museum’s seven curators, conservators and imaging scientists used a tactic called false-colour infrared reflectance imaging, which led to the discovery of broader, heavier white brushstrokes beneath the surface layer. They also utilised XRF spectroscopy to map out the distribution of elements such as copper in Vermeer’s work.
Discussing the research, John K. Delaney, the senior imaging scientist for the National Gallery, said: “We use these two interactive modes: We’re looking at reflected light from the painting of the visible and the infrared, and then the elemental maps. The problem with these techniques is they don’t give you layered stratigraphy. We’re not getting a CT scan.”
Girl With A Flute was once “cautiously” attributed to Vermeer. According to these new findings, however, it would appear the painting was created by someone else, throwing the authenticity of other supposedly genuine Vermeers into question.
