National Gallery of Art :: The Collection :: Girl with a Flute
  • Provenance
  • Exhibition History
  • Bibliography

Overview

No overview.

Inscription

null

Marks and Labels

null

Provenance

Possibly Pieter Claesz van Ruijven [1624-1674], Delft; possibly by inheritance to his wife, Maria de Knuijt [d. 1681]; possibly by inheritance to her daughter, Magdalena van Ruijven [1655-1682], Delft; possibly by inheritance to her husband, Jacobus Abrahamsz. Dissius [1653-1695], Delft;[1] (sale, Amsterdam, 16 May 1696, probably no. 39 or 40).[2] possibly the van Son family; Jan Mahie van Boxtel en Liempde and his wife, Geertruida van Boxtel en Liempde [née van Son, d. 1876], 's-Hertogenbosch; purchased from the estate by their daughter, Jaqueline Gertrude Marie de Grez [Dowager de Grez, née Mahie van Boxtel en Liempde, d. 1917], Brussels, wife of Jonkheer Jan de Grez [1837-1910]; sold by 1911 to (Antiquar E. Jonas, Paris);[3] sold 16 June 1911 to (Thos. Agnew & Sons, Ltd., London); half-share sold June 1911 to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, and P. & D. Colnaghi, London); Agnew's half-share sold 21 November 1913 to (M. Knoedler & Co., New York);[4] Knoedler's three-quarter share sold July 1915 to (P. & D. Colnaghi, London). August Janssen [1863-1918], Amsterdam, after August 1916.[5] (Jacques Goudstikker, Amsterdam), by 1919; purchased jointly April 1921 by (M. Knoedler & Co., New York, and Frederick Muller & Co., Amsterdam);[6] sold February 1923 to Joseph E. Widener; inheritance from Estate of Peter A. B. Widener by gift through power of appointment of Joseph E. Widener, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, after purchase by funds of the Estate; gift 1942 to NGA.

[1] The 1683 inventory of goods accruing to Jacob Dissius after the death of his wife Magdalena van Ruijven lists twenty paintings by Vermeer. For the complete transactions between her husband Jacob Dissius and his father Abraham Dissius following her death, see John Michael Montias, Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History, Princeton, 1989, 246-257, 359-361, docs. 417, 420.

[2] For this sale see John Michael Montias, Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History, Princeton, 1989: 363-364, doc. 439. Item no. 38 in the sale is described as "a tronie in antique dress, uncommonly artful"; item no. 39 as "Another ditto Vermeer"; and item no. 40 as "A pendant of the same."

[3] The exact date when the painting was sold by the De Grez family is uncertain; it seems to be either 1911 or 1914. The 1911 date used in the Provenance comes from three sources. The first is a letter of 18 May 1995 from Melissa De Medeiros, librarian at M. Knoedler (in NGA curatorial files) that says "Under Knoedler #12403 we purchased a 1/2 share in the painting from Thos. Agnew & Sons in June 1911 and sold it in July 1915 to P&D Colnaghi, London." A follow-up letter of 31 May 1995 clarifies the fact that the half share purchased from Agnew's was actually split with Colnaghi. The second is a letter of 25 July 1995 from Fred Bancroft, director of Agnew's Inc., New York (in NGA curatorial files), that says: "According to our stock books, the Vermeer was purchased from E. Jonas on June 16, 1911 and then sold outright to Knoedler on November 21, 1913. There seems to be no record of shares being sold to other dealers." The phrase "sold outright," however, hints that there may have been shares involved, as evidenced by Knoedler's records. The third is a letter of 30 May 1996 from Stephen Rudge, Colnaghi, London (in NGA curatorial files), indicating that, despite the lack of a stock book record, "there is an old record card that confirms both the purchase with Knoedler and the fact that we took it over in July 1915." From these records, it appears that the painting had left the De Grez family by 1911, since Agnew's purchased it from E. Jonas in June of that year. However, correspondence in the NGA curatorial files from Dr. J. B.V. M. J. van de Mortel, a relation of the Dowager de Grez, consistently relates the story that his father, Henri van de Mortel, who was the Dowager's nephew and handled her affairs, sold the painting for her in 1914 to Antiquar Jonas in Paris (letters to David Finley of 31 October 1946 and to John Walker of 18 November 1946). Because it was his father who was handling the Dowager's affairs, it is possible that Dr. Van de Mortel had the year of the sale wrong. The dealers' records would imply so.

[4] At this point, it appears Knoedler held a three-quarter share and Colnaghi a one-quarter share in the painting.

[5] According to a letter of 30 May 1996 from Stephen Rudge, Colnaghi, London (in NGA curatorial files), the old record "card does mention that it was still present [with Colnaghi] in August 1916."

[6] Letter of 18 May 1995 from Melissa De Medeiros, librarian at M. Knoedler (in NGA curatorial files). This letter also provides the date of sale to Joseph Widener.

Exhibition History

1907
Loan to display with permanent collection, Mauritshuis, The Hague, 1907.
1919
La Collection Goudstikker d'Amsterdam, Pulchri Studio, The Hague, 1919, no. 131.
1995
Johannes Vermeer, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis, The Hague, 1995-1996, no. 23, repro., as Young Girl with a Flute by Circle of Johannes Vermeer.
1998
A Collector's Cabinet, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1998, no. 62.
1999
Johannes Vermeer: The Art of Painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1999-2000, not in brochure.

Bibliography

1906
Bredius, Abraham. "Der 36. (oder 37.) Delfter Vermeer." Kunstchronik 18 (1906-1907): 385-386.
1907
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. A Catalogue Raisonné of the Works of the Most Eminent Dutch Painters of the Seventeenth Century.... 8 vols., translated from the German edition. London, 1907-1917: 1(1907):591-592, no. 22d.
1907
Hofstede de Groot, Cornelis. Jan Vermeer von Delft und Carel Fabritius. Amsterdam, 1907: 32, 34, no. 42, repro.
1907
Martin, Wilhelm. "Jan Vermeer van Delft. Het Meisje met de Fluit." Onze Kunst 12 (1907): 20.
1907
Martin, Wilhelm. "La Jeune Fille à la Flute de Vermeer de Delft." L'Arte Flamand E Hollandais 8 (July 1907): 20-23, repro.
1910
Veth, Jan. "Gemälde von Johannes Vermeer in niederländischen Sammlungen." Kunst und Künstler 8 (November 1910): 102-117.
1911
Plietzsch, Eduard. Vermeer van Delft. Leipzig, 1911: 55, 78-79, 115, no. 13, repro.
1912
Dreyfous, Georges. L'Oeuvre de Jan Vermeer de Delft. Paris, 1912, 29.
1913
Hale, Philip L. Jan Vermeer of Delft. Boston, 1913: 244, 264-265, 373, repro.
1919
Bode, Wilhelm von. Die Meister der holländischen und vlämischen Malerschulen. 2nd ed. Leipzig, 1919: 79.
1920
Hirschmann, Otto. "Die Sammlung August Janssen." Der Cicerone 12 (January 1920): 17-26, 69-77, repro.
1921
Vanzype, Gustave. Jan Vermeer de Delft. Brussels and Paris, 1921: 72, repro.
1923
Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1923: unpaginated, repro., as by Jan Vermeer.
1924
Hausenstein, Wilhelm. "Vermeer van Delft." Das Bild Atlanten zur Kunst 10 (1924): 27, repro. 33.
1925
Constable, W. G. Review of Wilhelm Hausenstein, Vermeer van Delft, Das Bild Atlanten zur Kunst 10., Munich, 1924. The Burlington Magazine 47 (November 1925): 269.
1925
Cortissoz, Royal. Personalities in Art. New York and London, 1925: 47.
1925
Lavallée, Pierre. "Un Tableau Inconnu de Vermeer: La Jeune Femme au Chapeau Rouge." Revue de l'Art 47 (May 1925): 323-324.
1925
Lloyd, David. "The Vermeers in America." International Studio 82 (November 1925): 123-128, repro.
1927
Siple, Ella S. "Recent Acquisitions by American Collectors." The Burlington Magazine 51 (December 1927): 297-309.
1929
Lucas, Edward Verrall. Vermeer the Magical. London, 1929: vii-viii.
1929
Wilenski, Reginald Howard. An Introduction to Dutch Art. New York 1929: 271, 277, 284 (also rev. ed., Dutch Painting, London, 1945: 178, 187).
1931
Paintings in the Collection of Joseph Widener at Lynnewood Hall. Intro. by Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Elkins Park, Pennsylvania, 1931: 100, repro., as by Jan Vermeer.
1932
Hind, Arthur M. Rembrandt: Being the Substance of the Charles Eliot Norton Lectures Delivered before Harvard University 1930-1931. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1932: 91, repro.
1932
Valentiner, Wilhelm R. "Zum 300. Geburtstag Jan Vermeers, Oktober 1932: Vermeer und di Meister der Holländischen Genremalerei." Pantheon 5 (October 1932): 305-324.
1934
Fell, H. Granville. Vermeer. London and Edinburgh, 1934: 22, 67.
1935
Tietze, Hans. Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei in Amerika. Vienna, 1935: 189, repro. (English ed., Masterpieces of European Painting in America. New York, 1939: 189, repro.).
1937
Hale, Philip L. Vermeer. Boston and New York, 1937: 132, 143, pl. 28.
1938
Waldman, Emil. "Die Sammlung Widener." Pantheon 22 (November 1938): 334-343, repro. 334.
1939
Craven, Thomas. A Treasury of Art Masterpieces from the Renaissance to the Present Day. New York, 1939: 317-319, color repro. (also rev. ed., 1952: 127, repro., 159, color repro.).
1939
Plietzsch, Eduard. Vermeer van Delft. Munich, 1939: 29, 63, no. 39, repro. no. 29 (also English ed., 1948: 40, 89-90, pl. 21).
1939
Vries, Ary Bob de. Jan Vermeer van Delft. Amsterdam, 1939: 48, 88-89, no. 28, repro. fig. 52 (rev. ed., London, New York, Toronto and Sydney, 1948).
1940
Bodkin, Thomas. "Review of de Vries, Jan Vermeer van Delft, Amsterdam, 1939." The Burlington Magazine 77 (August 1940): 67-68.
1940
Goldscheider, Ludwig. The Paintings of Jan Vermeer. Oxford and New York, 1940: 7, 14, pl. 40.
1941
Comstock, Helen. "The Connoisseur in America." The Connoisseur 107 (May 1941): 165-170, repro.
1942
Works of Art from the Widener Collection. Foreword by David Finley and John Walker. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1942: 7, as by Jan Vermeer.
1944
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., Masterpieces of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. New York, 1944: 102, color repro., as by Jan Vermeer.
1946
Blum, André. Vermeer et Thoré-Burger. Geneva, 1946: 30, 194.
1948
Paintings and Sculpture from the Widener Collection. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1948 (reprinted 1959): 64, repro., as by Jan Vermeer.
1949
Thienen, Frithjof van. Jan Vermeer of Delft. New York, 1949: 19, 23, no. 26, repro.
1950
Swillens, P. T. A. Johannes Vermeer: Painter of Delft, 1632-1675. Utrecht, 1950: 64-65, no. E.
1952
Gowing, Lawrence. Vermeer. London, 1952: 64, 145, repro., color repro. (also 2nd ed., New York, 1970: 146-147, repro.).
1952
Malraux, André, ed. Vermeer de Delft. Paris, 1952: 94-96, no. xxvi, color repro.
1954
Bloch, Vitale. Tutto la Pittura di Vermeer di Delft. Milan, 1954: 35, pl. 57 (also English ed., transl. Michael Kitson, All the Paintings of Jan Vermeer, New York, 1954: 35, pl. 57).
1956
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. New York, 1956: 10, repro., as by Vermeer.
1957
Shapley, Fern Rusk. Comparisons in Art: A Companion to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. London, 1957 (reprinted 1959): pl. 80.
1958
Goldscheider, Ludwig. Jan Vermeer: The Paintings. London, 1958: 137, no. 18, color pl. 61.
1960
The National Gallery of Art and Its Collections. Foreword by Perry B. Cott and notes by Otto Stelzer. National Gallery of Art, Washington (undated, 1960s): 26, as by Vermeer.
1961
Mirimonde, Albert P. de. "Les Sujets musicaux chez Vermeer de Delft." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 57 (January 1961): 29-52, repro.
1963
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. New York, 1963 (reprinted 1964 in French, German, and Spanish): 188, repro., as by Vermeer.
1964
Seymour, Charles Jr. "Dark Chamber and Light-Filled Room: Vermeer and the Camera Obscura." The Art Bulletin 46, no. 3 (September 1964): 323-331, repros.
1965
Summary Catalogue of European Paintings and Sculpture. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1965: 135, as by Vermeer.
1966
Cairns, Huntington, and John Walker, eds., A Pageant of Painting from the National Gallery of Art. 2 vols. New York, 1966: 2:258, color repro., as by Jan Vermeer.
1966
Descargues, Pierre. Vermeer. Trans. by James Emmons. Geneva, 1966: 132-133, color repro. 104.
1966
Emiliani, Andrea. Vermeer (1632-1675). Milan, 1966: repro.
1966
Rosenberg, Jakob, Seymour Slive, and E. H. ter Kuile. Dutch Art and Architecture: 1600-1800. Baltimore, 1966: 122, pl. 96a.
1967
Bianconi, Piero. The Complete Paintings of Vermeer. New York, 1967: 94, no. 31, repro., color repro. pl. 41.
1967
Koningsberger, Hans. The World of Vermeer 1632-1675. New York, 1967: 141-142, repro.
1968
European Paintings and Sculpture, Illustrations. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1968: 122, repro., as by Vermeer.
1968
Kühn, Hermann. "A Study of the Pigments and the Grounds Used by Jan Vermeer." In National Gallery of Art Report and Studies in the History of Art 2 (1968-69): 194, no. 20.
1970
Walicki, Michal. Jan Vermeer van Delft. Dresden, 1970: 39-40, repro. no. 57.
1973
Fahy, Everett. The Wrightsman Collection V: Painting, Drawings and Sculpture. New York, 1973:313-314, repro.
1973
Mistler, Jean. Vermeer. Paris, 1973: no. 28, color repro.
1974
Grimme, Ernst Günther. Jan Vermeer van Delft. Cologne, 1974: 61, no. 22, repro.
1975
Blankert, Albert, contr. Rob Ruurs and Willem van de Watering. Johannes Vermeer van Delft, 1632-1675. Utrecht and Antwerp, 1975: 108-110, 168, repro. 203 (also English ed., Oxford, 1978: 73-74, 172, cat. B4, color repro.).
1975
European Paintings: An Illustrated Summary Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1975: 362, repro., as by Vermeer.
1976
Wright, Christopher. Vermeer. London, 1976: 47, repro. no. 21, 81.
1978
Young, Eric. "Review of Christopher Wright, Vermeer, London, 1976." Apollo 108 (October 1978): 282.
1981
Slatkes, Leonard J. Vermeer and His Contemporaries. New York, 1981: 97-98, repro.
1981
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Jan Vermeer. New York, 1981: 45, 156, color repro. no. 47 (2nd rev. ed., 1988).
1984
Walker, John. National Gallery of Art, Washington. Rev. ed. New York, 1984: 304, no. 401, color repro., as by Circle of Jan Vermeer.
1985
Brentjens, Yvonne. "Twee meisjes van Vermeer in Washington." Tableau 7 (February 1985): 54-58, repro.
1985
European Paintings: An Illustrated Catalogue. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985: 421, repro.
1986
Aillaud, Gilles, Albert Blankert, and John Michael Montias. Vermeer. Paris, 1986: 200-201, no. B4, repro. (English ed., New York, 1988).
1989
Montias, John Michael. Vermeer and His Milieu: A Web of Social History. Princeton, 1989: 265.
1995
Johannes Vermeer. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington; Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis, The Hague, 1995-1996: no. 23.
1995
Wheelock, Jr., Arthur K. Dutch Paintings of the Seventeenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 1995: 387-393, color repro. 389.
1996
Hunter, Sam and Melissa de Medeiros. The Rise of the Art World in America: Knoedler at 150. Exh. cat. Knoedler & Company, 1996. New York, 1996: 13.
1997
Gowing, Lawrence. Vermeer. London, 1997: no. 56, repro.
1997
Scholz, Georg. Lyrische Bilder: Gedichte nach Gemälden von Jan Vermeer. Munich, 1997: 52, repro.
1997
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. Vermeer: The Complete Works. New York, 1997: 50, fig. 21, repro.
2005
Fehy, Everett, ed. The Wrightsman Pictures. New Haven, 2005: 134-135, under cat. 37, fig. 5.
2008
Dolnick, Edward. The Forger’s Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century. New York, 2008: 130-131, 142, 169n.
2012
Tummers, Anna. The Eye of the Connoisseur: Authenticating Paintings by Rembrandt and His Contemporaries. Amsterdam, 2012: 28, 29, color fig. 8.

Related Works

Related Resources

  • Event Type
    Event Name
    March 1–June 1
    Mon, Tues, and Wed at 1:00
    March 5, 2012 at 2:00
    March 7, 2012 at 4:00
    East Building, Auditorium
    Name of docent
    image:
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum
    60 minutes
    Registration for this event begins on April 1, 2012 at noon.
    Register for this event
    Download the program notes (100k)
  • Self-Guided Tour
    Italian Collection
    image:
    Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum