A fake Vermeer painting has been found at the National Gallery of Art…but who created it? 🤔

Transcript

I love a good reattribution story!

A well-known piece by Johannes Vermeer called “Girl with a Flute” has been identified as having not been created by Vermeer.

You can see in “Girl with a Flute” that the technical quality of it is very different when compared to another piece that’s at the National Gallery of Art, “Girl with a Red Hat.”

If you look at “Girl with a Red Hat,” the colors are extremely vivid, the tapestry is more precisely painted, and the highlights are more pronounced.

In “Girl with a Flute,” though, the scene is muddier, her facial features are not as vibrant, and the overall painting looks more static.

“Girl with a Flute,” is now attributed to Vermeer’s studio, instead of the artist. And it’s not a bad thing that it isn’t made by Vermeer. It just changes the story as well as the monetary value of the piece.

🎧 Listen to the full episode here.