During the pandemic, the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C., investigated four paintings attributed to Johannes Vermeer. During that time, it was discovered that the underpainting below the surface of one of those paintings, Girl with the Red Hat (ca.1664–69), was a portrait of a man.
The museum’s conservation studio used advanced imaging techniques to virtually penetrate layers of paint in combination with a microscopic examination of the paintings’ surfaces to analyze Vermeer’s process. This earlier research suggested that the male figure, painting in uncharacteristically loose brushstrokes, was the work of an unidentified artist.
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Further studies, however, indicate that Vermeer’s underpaintings were consistently looser and completed more quickly, before the master went back in to refine the work—a process that is taught in art schools today and is considered fairly typical for most (though, not all) artists.
In the underpainting, the man’s wide-brimmed hat and collar with a tassel tie can be dated to 1650-55, when such a costume would have been worn. If it is, in fact, a Vermeer, this would make the painting among the artist’s earliest known works, with that current standing belonging to Christ in the House of Mary and Martha (1654-55).
It would also be considered his only known male portrait, as The Astronomer (1668) and The Geographer (1668) are not regarded as such, and it would provide greater context to the artist’s process and early career.
Specialists at the NGA are now arguing that the male portrait could belong to Vermeer. However, this theory “has not yet been proven or denied”, the Art Newspaper reported Thursday.
This research additionally opens the door to the possibility of other unidentified works.
An inventory compiled after Vermeer’s death in 1676 indicates that he owned two male portraits by fellow Delft artist Carel Fabritius. It has been suggested that the hidden work could have, instead, been painted by Fabritius, with Vermeer painting overtop of it.
For Fabritius’s part, there are only about a dozen known works by the artist. If the hidden portrait was painted by him, that would be an impactful finding for his work as well.