Earliest Johannes Vermeer painting authenticated – and up for sale

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/jun/09/earliest-johannes-vermeer-painting-authenticated

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No window, no letter, no musical instruments, not even a pearl earring: young woman in a pink dress is not what most people think of as a painting by the 17th century Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer, but newly authenticated as his earliest surviving work it is coming up for auction estimated at up to £8m.

Although the painting is signed and dated, experts have been arguing about the painting of Saint Praxedis for decades, since it was first suggested that it was a genuine early work by the artist, painted when he was 23, newly converted to Catholiciism and heavily influenced by Italian art.

Christie's auctioneers say that the latest scientific analysis, by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, shows that the lead white paint extensively used in the painting was made in northern Europe, and precisely matches another undisputed early work by Vermeer, Diana and Her Companions. The use of the brilliant blue pigment, ultramarine, is also typical of Vermeer's work, they say.

It is being sold from the estate of the American collector Barbara Piasecka Johnson, who died last year, with the proceeds going to her charitable foundation. She also once owned a Rembrandt portrait sold at Christie's four years ago for more than £20m.

Paintings by Vermeer are particularly coveted because they are so rare: the saint is one of two still in private hands, and will be auctioned in London next month. The other, a young woman in a yellow shawl playing music, also authenticated after years of scholarly debate, sold at Sotheby's in 2004 for more than £16m.