Now on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through late 2023, “The Guitar Player (Lady with a Guitar)” (c. 1670–1720), has generated some buzz around its ambiguous link to Dutch master Johannes Vermeer since it was unearthed from storage after nearly a century. The mysterious oil painting has eluded experts for decades, as the work was thought to be an anonymous copy of Vermeer’s “The Guitar Player” (c. 1672), currently at Kenwood House in London. However, Dutch researcher Arie Wallert asserted at a Rijksmuseum symposium that the PMA’s painting may actually be an original Vermeer work, prompting the museum to pursue further analysis with the help of additional Vermeer experts.
The Philadelphia institution acquired “The Guitar Player (Lady with a Guitar)” from the John G. Johnson Collection in 1933 and never exhibited it until now. It was thought to have been an original Vermeer up until the nearly identical London-based version popped up in remarkably pristine condition and its subject is shown with a different hairstyle. Experts then purported that the London painting was the original Vermeer work and that the painting in Philadelphia, which was damaged, was either an anonymous copy or a duplicate painted by Vermeer himself. Prior to its acquisition, the painting in Philadelphia had unfortunately undergone “aggressive cleaning attempts” that stripped off the topmost layers of painted detail work, according to the museum, and a further restoration attempt in 1973 revealed a large tear in the bottom right corner of the painting.
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The museum did not immediately respond to Hyperallergic‘s request for comment.
Wallert’s 2016 material analysis of the painting led him to initially dismiss the work as a copy as there was evidence of Prussian blue, a pigment that was invented long after Vermeer’s death in 1675. However, Wallert revisited the painting in 2021 ahead of the Rijksmuseum’s blockbuster Vermeer exhibition and a more thorough analysis yielded evidence of lead-tin yellow, a pigment which fell out of fashion by 1700. Wallert also identified green earth pigments that were consistent with Vermeer’s portraiture palette and found that the Prussian blue was more likely to have been indigo pigment instead, aligning with the painter’s palette later in his career, as the Philadelphia Inquirer noted. Wallert did not comment on the differing hairstyle shown on the subject of the Philadelphia painting compared to that of the one in London.
These recent assertions from Wallert prompted the museum to showcase the painting in its unrestored form for the first time before it’s brought back to the museum’s lab for additional research to confirm its attribution. “Our conversation at the museum now is focused on the future of the painting, embracing collaborative research, seeking more knowledge, and inviting the public to be part of the process,” museum Director Sasha Suda said in a statement.
The possible Vermeer original is now on view in the European Art From 1500 to 1800 section in Gallery 364 on the third floor of the museum.
Source: Hyperallergic.com