Did Vermeer hide a self-portrait beneath the painting A Maid Asleep (1656–57), as some art historians have theorized? New research by the scientific team at the Metropolitan Museum of Art suggests yes.
Research conducted by the New York institution has determined that there is an overpainted figure within the background of the painting—a man who appears to be painting with his left hand, implying he is a reflection in a framed mirror, according to an Art Newspaper report. The image, however, is too obscured to see his facial features.
The report included further support for the belief that the underpainting is a self-portrait: Nicolaes Maes’s 16955 painting The Naughty Drummer (held in the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum’s collection), which was completed roughly a year before A Maid Asleep. As pointed out by Met specialists, Maes painted a mother scolding her young son for his noisy drumming, which woke a sleeping infant. A framed mirror appears to hang on the wall above the mother and reflected within it—an artist at his easel. It’s widely believed that Vermeer was familiar with Maes’s work, and may even have seen The Naughty Drummer, the museum argues.
The Met’s team proposed the possibility of Vermeer’s painted-over self-portrait in 2023. If the theory is to be believed, the woman dozing at the table is not a maid, but the artist’s model. The idea is supported by her conspicuous adornments: pearl earrings and a sumptuous red dress, uncommon belongings for a servant.