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This article, written by Miles Mathis, argues that the famous painting The Girl With a Pearl Earring is a forgery, based on his expertise as a portrait painter. He critiques the art world’s reliance on so-called experts, pointing to past instances of major museums being fooled by fakes, such as those by van Meergeren at the Rijksmuseum. Mathis asserts that the current art experts are no different and that talented artists like himself are ignored.

He claims the Girl With a Pearl Earring is immediately recognizable as fake due to its poor quality, lack of finish, modern expression, inconsistent craquelure, and failure to align with Johannes Vermeer’s established oeuvre, arguing Vermeer was a painter of miniatures, not life-size busts, and known for tight brushwork, not loose application. Mathis specifically criticizes the rendering of the white collar and blouse as simplistic and modern, the black background as uncharacteristic, and the pearl earring itself as poorly executed, suggesting it might even be tin. He notes that a similar pearl is depicted in Vermeer’s Mistress and Maid, but with much greater skill. Mathis also disputes the claim of tiny eyelashes, attributing the visual effect to pigment spreading, indicative of improperly made paint. He highlights the limited color palette and the “pebbled” appearance of the black pigment, contrasting it with the nuanced color mixing a professional would use.

Further, Mathis questions Vermeer’s oeuvre, noting that The Girl With a Pearl Earring does not match other paintings like Girl with a Red Hat or Study of a Young Woman at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, though he believes Study of a Young Woman might also be a fake and was acquired by the Met in 1979. He points out the lack of provenance for The Girl With a Pearl Earring, its acquisition for a mere two guilders at auction in 1881, and the involvement of Victor de Stuers, an art historian who chose the architect for the Rijksmuseum, suggesting de Stuers was an enabler of the fraud.

Mathis delves into Vermeer’s supposed family history, highlighting that his maternal grandfather, Balthasar Gerrits, was arrested for counterfeiting, and that Vermeer’s father, Reijnier Janszoon, was a silkworker and possibly dealt in art forgery. He suggests Vermeer’s name itself is a fabrication, like those of Stalin and lenin, and that his real name, Johannes Reijnerzoon, would be too obvious given his alleged Jewish heritage. He links Vermeer’s conversion to Catholicism to marry Catharina Bolenes (also presumed Jewish) to the influence of his mother-in-law, Maria Thins, a devotee of the Jesuits. Mathis also claims Vermeer was involved in fraud, forging his mother-in-law’s name and then mysteriously dying at age 43, possibly faking his death.

He criticizes the historical obscurity of Vermeer between 1660 and 1860, followed by a sudden rediscovery by art critic Théophile Thore-Burger, who he brands as a “crypto-Jew and Communist” possibly hired by the Rothschilds. Thore-Burger’s promotion of Vermeer’s work is seen as part of a manufactured history. Mathis also mentions Vermeer’s dealer, Gerrit Reynst, being accused of fraud. He further notes that Vermeer had no pupils, and his studio contained no art supplies, nor a camera obscura. The use of expensive lapis lazuli in Vermeer’s paintings contradicts his supposed poverty.

Mathis then extends his critique to other paintings attributed to Vermeer, including Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, which he argues is by a different hand and has questionable restorations. He links this painting to a Raphael fake, the Sistine Madonna, claiming both feature a green curtain and were faked by the same artist or studio, potentially connected to Victor de Stuers. He speculates on the potential replacement or fabrication of the original Sistine Madonna and suggests the forgeries go back to the late 1800s, predating WWII and involving historical deceivers. He also points to the alleged theft of paintings from Dresden by the Russians as a connection.

He analyzes Christ in the House of Martha and Mary, Allegory of Faith, and Diana and her Companions, dismissing them as clear misattributions due to different painting styles, unsigned status, and lack of characteristic detail. Mathis concludes that Vermeer’s entire history may have been fabricated by Thore-Burger and other Jewish historians to create another high-profile Dutch artist like Rembrandt for financial gain.

The article also includes an email from a Dutch reader providing further supposed evidence of fraud in the Vermeer family history, detailing names like Jan Reyersz, Reijnier Vos, and Balthasar Gerrits and linking them to a fictional character Reinaart de Vos and the murderer of William of Orange. The email also mentions Vermeer’s son, Jan Vermeer, marrying Maria Anne Frank, drawing a parallel to Anne Frank, suggesting a post-WWII construction of Vermeer’s history. Finally, Mathis notes that a cupid painting in the background of Lady Standing at a Virginal at the National Gallery, London appears to be the same as the one in Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, further implicating a single fraudulent studio.

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