Complete Vermeer Catalogue & Tracker

tracker last updated: July 16, 2022

AUTHENTICITY There are thirty-four paintings which modern scholars overwhelmingly agree should be attributed to Johannes Vermeer of Delft.

Three works are included in this catalogue which have not received unanimous acceptance: Saint Praxedis, Girl with a Flute and A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals (the latter not to be confused with the London National Gallery picture of similar title and motif).

1. Since only Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. currently defends the Saint Praxedis as an authentic work by Vermeer, it has been listed in an appendix as work "A."

2. The Girl with a Flute is currently rejected by Albert Blankert and Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. who ascribes it as "attributed to Johannes Vermeer." Most all other scholars accept it as authentic. It is accepted as no. 25 in the Essential Vermeer catalogue.

3. A Young Woman Seated at the Virginals (again, not to be confused with the London National Gallery picture of similar name and motif) has been recently accepted by the leading Vermeer expert Walter Liedtke and included it in his Vermeer: The Complete Catalogue of 2008 (no. 36). Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. and Wayne Franits have also accepted it as authentic.

Nonetheless, the lack of open scholarly discussion regarding this work has encouraged the author of this site to label this work as questionable. Current acceptance is largely based in scientific evidence. It has been listed in an appendix as work "B."

DATING Since only three Vermeer's paintings were dated by his own hand, the dates of each picture proposed in the Essential Vermeer catalogue covers the range of those estimated by four authoritative scholars of Dutch art and Vermeer: Albert Blankert (Vermeer: 1632–1675, 1975), Arthur K. Wheelock Jr. (The Public and the Private in the Age of Vermeer, 2000), Walter Liedtke (Vermeer: The Complete Catalogue, 2008) and Wayne Franits (Vermeer, 2015). Catalogue numbers were calculated by averaging their total estimates.

For a complete table of estimated dates, click here.

TITLES Over the years, scholars and museums have given a number of titles to each of Vermeer's paintings. For the sake of uniformity, the titles used in this catalogue are those found in Arthur K. Wheelock's Vermeer and the Art of Painting (pp. 169–186).

VISITING THE REAL PAINTINGS Although digital imaging technology as applied to works of art has reached unparalleled levels of sophistication, experiencing a real painting cannot be adequately duplicated by such means. For this reason the author of this website strongly encourages readers to visit the works which interest him most whenever it is possible. Nonetheless, due to the Covid-19 crisis, the great part of art collections where the works by Vermeer are housed are currently closed to the public. Please note that the information regarding reopening times are given below for each painting. Every attempt will be made to update this information as it changes, but before making traveling plans, the museums should be contacted directly.