And yet, Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) did not paint his paintings in the way we thought so far, i.e. very slowly and always with the utmost precision. Thanks to the major exhibition that the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is preparing for the 17th-century master and the new study of many of his works, new light is shed on himself, on his relationship with his contemporaries and, above all, on his method. work.

Obviously, this does not detract one iota from the greatness of his painting. Equally, this makes it more charming and dear to us, because after centuries of silence, the one who was called the “Sphinx of Delft” – where he lived and worked – it’s time to reveal some of the secrets of his art.

From the moment the National Museum of the Netherlands decided to dedicate a retrospective to Vermeer for the first time in its history, it has moved in two directions. On the one hand, they were preparing to organize the largest ever exhibition of the famous artist on loans from all over the world. The museum itself houses four of his masterpieces and joins forces with the Mauritshuis in The Hague as well as museums and collections from Europe, the US and Japan. The Dutch master left an impressively small number of works to European culture: 35 or, according to other sources, 37 paintings. At least 28 of them will be on display in Amsterdam, paintings that are considered the most valuable treasures of any museum collection and are therefore rarely loaned out.

Thus, the exhibition “Vermeer”, which opens on February 10, will showcase what we have admired so far from his paintings, usually from the pages of art books. Examples include “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, “Geographer”, “Woman with Weights”, “Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid”. And of course the excellent Galatow, which was completed about 350 years ago.

This very young maid, pouring milk into an earthen basin, bathed in the painter’s characteristic light, with the calmness characteristic of his inner scenes, told a lot about the art of his creator.

28 of the 35 works by the Dutch artist, which have never before been published together in a museum, will be on display.

In anticipation of the exhibition, a group of restorers and scientists from the Rijksmuseum and the Mauritshuis conducted a study of the artist’s paintings and Galato. The methods used include advanced Macro-XRF and RIS scanning technologies, which were also used to study and restore Rembrandt’s Night Patrol. These advanced technologies have revealed other touches and designs hidden behind the surface of the Galatus. Under the girl’s left hand is a hurried thick line of black paint. This clearly shows that the artist first quickly painted over the scene with light and dark tones, and then proceeded to compose the details. A similar preliminary sketch in black can be seen on the wall behind the girl’s head. This is probably an item used in 17th century kitchens to hang ceramic jugs from a handle, but the design was not ultimately developed by Vermeer.

Finally, the research allowed scientists to identify the basket in the lower right part of the painting, the so-called “fire basket”. Such a basket, woven from willow stalks, was a typical household item for young families. A vessel of burning coals was placed in this basket to keep newborns warm and to dry diapers.

Archival materials of the 17th century, including an inventory of Vermeer’s own property, show that such an object was in his house, where his large family lived. In the picture, the painter decided in the course of work to cover the “fire basket” and paint over the stove, the characteristic blue Delft tiles and the floor.

The duration of the exhibition is until June 4th.