The unknown imitator: Experts from the National Gallery of Art in the United States have determined that the painting “The Girl with the Flute” attributed to Johann Vermeer was actually painted by an imitator of the 17th century Dutch artist, The art newspaper reports. This is a work that was painted between 1665 and 1670, but among various artists there have always been doubts as to whether the work Arne was painted by Vermeer – this is partly due to stylistic inconsistencies between “Note with the Flute” and other well-known paintings by Vermeer such as “The Girl with the Pearl Earring” .
Big news for Vermeer fans ????
National Gallery of Art curators, conservators, and scientists have announced that the painting, “Girl with a Flute”—once thought to have been painted by renowned artist Johannes Vermeer—was, in fact, painted by someone else. ???? pic.twitter.com/JP8XpCn306
— National Gallery of Art (@ngadc) October 7, 2022
A comprehensive study conducted between 2020 and 2021 that made use of innovative imaging technologies determined unequivocally that “The Girl with the Flute” was painted by another person who knew Vermeer’s working methods very well but was not as sharp and precise in working with color as the Dutch genius. The researchers speculated that the painter was one of the workers in Vermeer’s workshop. According to the researcher Catherine Dooley who participated in the study: “The findings showed that both Vermeer and the painter responsible for ‘The Girl with the Flute’ used the same materials in the same way, but the treatment of the paint was completely different. Those who tried to imitate Vermeer destroyed the work through a crude use of paint. He did not have the same skills as Vermeer’s.”
By the way, one of the versions holds that Vermeer’s daughter Maria, was a secret student of the axis and is the one responsible for the “girl with the flute”. Now, with the unequivocal determination that this is an imitator of Vermeer, more versions will emerge regarding the identity of the unknown painter.