A groundbreaking discovery has emerged from beneath one of Johannes Vermeer's celebrated works at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. Three years ago, researchers revealed that "Girl with the Red Hat" (created around 1664-69) was painted over an earlier composition showing a conventional portrait of a man. Initially, experts believed this hidden male portrait was created by an unknown artist rather than Vermeer himself, primarily because the brushwork appeared loose and differed significantly from Vermeer's typically refined painting style.
However, new research using advanced imaging techniques has challenged this earlier conclusion. Recent studies have shown that Vermeer's initial paintwork was generally looser and executed more quickly during the underpainting stage of his artistic process. Based on these findings, specialists at the National Gallery of Art now argue that the male portrait could indeed be Vermeer's own work, though this attribution has not yet been definitively proven or disproven.
If confirmed as authentic, this discovery would represent Vermeer's only known male portrait and provide unprecedented insight into his early career development. The hidden portrait can be dated to approximately 1650-55 based on distinctive elements of the subject's clothing, particularly his broad-brimmed hat and collar featuring a tasseled tie. This timeframe is significant because Vermeer's earliest currently known painting is "Christ in the House of Mary and Martha" (1654-55), housed at the National Galleries of Scotland in Edinburgh.
The implications of this discovery extend beyond a single painting. Art historians suggest that Vermeer may have created portraits before transitioning to his religious subjects in the mid-1650s. If this theory proves correct, some early Vermeer portraits might actually survive today but remain unidentified as works from his hand. These youthful works would likely appear unremarkable in style compared to his later masterpieces, which could explain why they haven't been previously attributed to the Dutch master.
Another intriguing possibility has emerged regarding the hidden portrait's true creator. Some experts suggest the underlying painting could be the work of Carel Fabritius, Vermeer's fellow artist from Delft who is now best known for "The Goldfinch" (1654), currently housed at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. This theory gains credibility from a 1676 inventory compiled after Vermeer's death, which documented that he owned two male head portraits by Fabritius at the time. It's possible that Vermeer also possessed other panels by Fabritius that he later reused for his own compositions.
The potential attribution to Fabritius would be equally significant for art history. Only about a dozen paintings by Fabritius are currently known to exist, so if the underpainting proves to be his work, it would represent a substantial addition to his limited surviving body of work. This discovery highlights the complex relationships between Dutch Golden Age artists and their practices of reusing materials and canvases, providing valuable insight into the practical aspects of 17th-century artistic production.
