Scientists and historians at the National Gallery of Art have deduced that a painting attributed to Johannes Vermeer, one of four in the museum’s collection, wasn’t painted by the Dutch master after all., a small study of a figure holding a recorder, was instead likely made by someone who studied under Vermeer or otherwise worked closely with him.
The exhibit is the culmination of an investigation that was only possible due to the global pandemic, which caused the National Gallery to close from March 2020 to May 2021. Vermeer’s paintings are simply too popular to take off the walls for lengthy study. Normally, the four works draw crowds on the main floor of the West Building; indeed, even in the short time they were removed from their permanent place to join this special exhibition, viewers noticed their absence.
The research team at the National Gallery—seven curators, conservators, and image scientists—employed several techniques to survey Vermeer’s layering and sequencing. Using a tactic called false-color infrared reflectance imaging, for example, the team could find evidence of broader, heavier brushstrokes of lead white underneath the soft glow of a wall. And with XRF spectroscopy, they could map out the distribution of elements such as copper in Vermeer’s work.
This further proves the point that even history isn't concrete in how we tell it. Everything is susceptible to change. Hopefully, the true artist can be brought to light and given the recognition they deserve .
Go to hell with that, we like it! :)
tanita_tikaram
I like them. The spinach is a nice touch🤣💜😋
piracy every where
🤣
I hope this exhibition will travel to London next!
The mask-like lifelessness of her face in comparison to the fluid realism of Vermeer's portraits should have clued the National Gallery of Art that the painting was obviously not painted by Vermeer
More forgery. 😳
That’s a wow. Vermeer painted very few paintings so any one of them that gets stricken off his list is a huge loss