MOSCOW, 4 Apr. The ex-employee of the Rijksmuseum, Ari Wallert, said that the painting, which is considered a copy of Vermeer's painting «Girl with a Guitar», still belongs to the master's brush. This writes The Art Newspapper.
This is a work from the funds of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (USA). Until 1927, it was assumed that this was the original — then a similar picture fell into the field of view of art historians. Now it is stored in London's Kenwood House. The Kenwood version was in much better condition and seemed authentic. So soon it was this work that was taken for the main canvas. The American «Girl with a Guitar» was eventually downgraded to a later copy and was not exhibited in the museum's main galleries. «photo» data-crop-ratio=»1.1453125″ data-crop-width=»600″ data-crop-height=»687″ data-source-sid=»» title=»Jan Vermeer Girl with a Guitar from the Kenwood Collection- house in London» class=»m-vertical lazyload» lazy=»1″ />
Wallert analyzed the color samples in the Philadelphia painting and found that it was created in the 17th century. He found traces of ultramarine, an expensive pigment that Vermeer worked with. And also lead-tin yellow — it fell into disuse around 1700. The researcher described the pigments as a combination that no one except Vermeer used.
Wallert compared the two images. They are the same size. And, according to Ari, they were created from one rough sketch. The last one is now lost. The compositions are almost identical. There is only one key difference — the hairstyles of the heroine.
An author of The Art Newspapper noted that curls, as in the Kenwood version, were indeed worn in the time of Vermeer (1632 — 1675). If both paintings were created by the same master, then it is not clear why he depicted different styles.
But the re-evaluation of the status of «Guitar Girl» has difficulties. And they are connected with the study of another work, the publication states. Recently, experts at the National Gallery of Art in Washington made a controversial statement. They stated that the painting «Girl with a Flute» from their museum was created in the «workshop of Vermeer». The statement is unexpected — it was previously believed that the master worked on his own and without assistants. And it is on this conviction that Wallert's conclusions rest.