Vermeer or not? New show lets guests determine who painted nearly equivalent artworks | Johannes Vermeer

Two nearly equivalent work have been at one time attributed to the nice Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer – however what’s the relationship between them?

Visitors to a brand new show at Kenwood in London shall be invited to attract their very own conclusions on this intriguing query when two variations of a Seventeenth-century portray, titled the Guitar Player, hold alongside one another for the primary time in 300 years.

For a few years, the work – one in every of which is within the assortment of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, whereas the opposite hangs at Kenwood – had been believed to have been painted by the Dutch grasp. But within the Twenties, the consensus shifted.

The Kenwood portray, which is in significantly better situation and – crucially – is signed by the artist, was the unique Vermeer, specialists agreed. The Philadelphia model, by which the younger lady wears her hair not in ringlets however tight braids, was extensively accepted to be an Seventeenth- or 18th-century copy.

But is that the entire story? In 2023, a Dutch art researcher suggested that the Philadelphia portray may be the painter’s personal copy of the picture – probably a sensational growth for an artist with solely 37 acknowledged surviving work.

As a end result, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has been conducting further tests on their portray, whereas English Heritage, which manages Kenwood and its assortment for the nation, has additionally examined its personal Vermeer. While curators anxiously await these outcomes, the 2 work will hold aspect by aspect in London for 4 months, permitting guests to make up their very own minds.

While the unique impetus for the twin show was the painter’s 350th anniversary in December, says Wendy Monkhouse, English Heritage’s senior curator at Kenwood, “the emergence of the discussion [over the Philadelphia painting] raised the opportunity to be able to say: ‘OK, let’s really discuss this.’ Both on an expert level, and offering the public an opportunity to become detectives and to weigh the evidence.”

Comparing the works aspect by aspect presents the viewer “a rather beautiful confusion”, she says. “You can’t believe your eyes.”

skip past newsletter promotion

after publication promotion

The outcomes of the evaluation, anticipated inside months, shall be illuminating, whether or not or not they recommend Vermeer painted each works, Monkhouse says. “To have a copy of the Guitar Player by him would be extraordinary, because it would be unique. There is no other copy that he made. [But] if somebody else copied this painting, then what else did they paint in life? Because they’re too good to have just done the one painting.”