Vermeer – Saint Praxedis – © Christie’s Images Limited 2014 UPDATE: IT SOLD FOR £6,242,500
A Vermeer at auction is possibly even rarer than hens teeth, so Christie’s is understandably thrilled to offer Saint Praxedis in London on July 8. One of only two known works by Vermeer in private hands it is estimated at £6-8 million at auction for the first time in its brief documented history. It was first considered to be by Johannes Vermeer of Delft (1632-1675) in 1969 and has been the subject of scholarly discussion ever since. The subject matter is unusual both in the context of Vermeer and of Dutch painting. In 1985 this work featured in the seminal monographic exhibition by Vermeer at the National Gallery of Art in Washington and The Mauritshuis, The Hague, as his earliest known painting, painted when he was 22-23. Since then the ex-Beit/Rolin Lady at the Virginals – long considered to be by a follower – has been re-accepted into his oeuvre and is now in private ownership. Only 36 paintings by Vermeer are known and his formative years as a painter are shrouded in mystery.
The results of a recent material technical analysis by the Rijksmuseum in association with the Free University, Amsterdam, endorses Vermeer’s authorship of Saint Praxedis. The lead white in the paint is consistent with Dutch painting, not Italian. They also found a precise match with another established early work by Vermeer – Diana and her Companions – at The Mauritshuis. The match suggests that the exact same batch of paint was used. Christ in the house of Mary and Martha by Vermeer at the National Gallery, Edinburgh, dates to the same period. Saint Praxedis is from the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection.