Scans of Frick Collection's Vermeer Reveals Alternative Background

May 28 2021

Image of Scans of Frick Collection's Vermeer Reveals Alternative Background

Picture: Frick Collection / MET

Posted by Adam Busiakiewicz:

I hope readers will forgive me for missing this very interesting blog posted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Frick Collection last year. It revolves around revelations made possible through detailed scans of the Frick Collection's Mistress and Maid by Johannes Vermeer. Images made through macro X-ray fluorescence have revealed that Vermeer had originally intended the scene to contain a more complicated background filled with figures and later a tapestry. For reasons unknown, Vermeer seems to have decided to paint them out completely.

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