Johannes Vermeer: On Reflection

Acquired by the Elector of Saxony in 1742, Johannes Vermeer’s Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window has since become one of the most revered paintings held in the Dresden State Art Collections. As a result of conservation work begun in 2017, however, researchers determined that extensive overpainting after Vermeer’s death has for centuries obscured a significant portion of the artist’s intended composition – a depiction of Cupid hanging on the wall behind the girl. Conservation has since brought the work closer to its original state; it goes on display here along with nine other works by Vermeer, and a further 50 by contemporaries such as Pieter de Hooch and Gerrit Dou. The exhibition runs from 10 September–2 January 2022; find out more from the SKD’s website.

Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary here  

Girl Reading a Letter at the Open Window (before restoration; 1657–59), Johannes Vermeer. Photo: Klut/Estel; © SKD

Girl Reading a Letter at the Open Window (after restoration; 1657–59), Johannes Vermeer. Photo: Wolfgang Kreische; © Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

At the Matchmaker (1656), Johannes Vermeer. Photo: Klut/Estel; © SKD

Woman with the Scales (1662–65), Johannes Vermeer. Photo: © National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Widener Collection

The Painter in his Workshop (1647), Gerrit Dou. Photo: Klut/Estel; © SKD