Talk:List of paintings by Johannes Vermeer

35 or 34?
The page says 35, but only lists 34. The list does not include A YOUNG WOMAN SEATED AT THE VIRGINALS or GIRL WITH A FLUTE. I'm not trying to start an argument about which ones to include. I'm just pointing out an inconsistency. HelmerAslaksen (talk) 08:47, 6 May 2009 (UTC)
 * Now it says 31, attributed to a source, but there are still 35 listed. The sources I read all say 35. I think Wheelock, the source for this, may be in the minority. CountryDoctor (talk) 00:21, 2 October 2009 (UTC)
 * at present 34 paintings seem to be almost universally attributed to him, though of these Girl with a Red Hat has been questioned several times. Three remaining possibles are Saint Praxedis, Young Lady Seated at the Virginals (the privately-owned work currently in the USA, not the one in London) and Girl with a Flute.Jimi 66 (talk) 19:43, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

Names and years and footnotes
I've begun to list alternate names and alternate estimates of years of composition. This is a lot of detail and it's difficult to establish what the consensus is on this among the best sources, so I'm adding alternates in parentheses after the existing names and years (something that already had been started with names), and I'm adding footnotes to that. Ideally, the most common name used by reliable sources should be the one we use, giving alternative names in parentheses, and same with composition years. CountryDoctor (talk) 00:21, 2 October 2009 (UTC)
 * I'm definitely in favour of adding alternative dating theories, but I'm wodnering if it might be clearer to combine the different dates, e.g. changing '1661-2 or 1662-3' to '1661-3'.Jimi 66 (talk) 19:29, 16 June 2010 (UTC)

How many paintings are firmly attributable to Vermeer?
This is obviously a rather subjective question - depending on which art historians we survey - but we need to have some consistency in the article at least. At present the article's header mentions 34 definite Vermeers and 3 possibles, while the actual list is divided into 36 definites and 1 possible. I'm responsible for the 34 and 3 in the header, but am very happy for this to be changed if someone provides a suitable citation. The 34/4 division comes from the Essential Vermeer website, which I think is a good source though perhaps not an ideal one, as Jonathan Janson who runs it is not (I think) a professional art historian. However if no-one's got a better idea, I propose to change the way the list of paintings is divided up in a week or so, to match the header.Jimi 66 (talk) 20:46, 8 November 2010 (UTC)


 * The books I've been using for sourcing on Vermeer articles don't seem to try to cover all of his works (another book, Serena Cant's Vermeer and His World does, but I think we could get a more authoritative source). We could probably write up a section explaining differences in how various scholars come up with their own lists of his works, noting the paintings that are included or not. I think ultimately, if someone has the time to look at enough sources, that will be what we'll do. I wonder which paintings would be put in the "possible" category. If we look at particular works, we might establish what most of the most reliable sources say about them in particular. -- JohnWBarber (talk) 16:14, 10 November 2010 (UTC)


 * Thanks John. As no one's offered a suitable source for any other arrangement, I've reordered the table so it reflects the division into 34 definite works and 3 possibles, as given on the Essential Vermeer site. One further painting has sometimes been questioned, though these days it seems to be almost universally accepted. This is Girl in a Red Hat.  I've left it in the 'definite' part of the table, but noted that it has been questioned there.  Sometime soon I'm planning to add some material to the individual pages for 2 of the controversial paintings, which will provide more info about the current state of debate.Jimi 66 (talk) 19:57, 21 November 2010 (UTC)

Exhibition
Tell us the most Vermeers ever assembled & exhibited in one place (U.S. Natl. Gal. Art&mdash;when, 1996?)

Jimlue (talk) 18:12, 5 September 2021 (UTC)

Girl with a flute
Apparently it wasn't painted by Vermeer, but maybe a protégé of his:

https://www.cnn.com/style/article/vermeer-girl-with-the-flute-downgraded-tan/index.html 24.51.192.49 (talk) 12:18, 30 January 2023 (UTC)