Seeing double: Vermeer painting and its mysterious ‘twin’ go on show

Gareth Harris | CNN | 2nd September 2025

Vermeer’s The Guitar Player hangs in London, was signed by the artist and is beautifully preserved. Its doppelgänger hangs in Philadelphia, unsigned and in poor condition. They are presently showing side by side to help settle a century-old debate about the authenticity of the Philadelphia version. Perhaps Vermeer made the copy but he was not known for doing that. Says a curator “if someone else painted it … they’re too good to have just done the one painting”. An excellent summary of the technical analysis is here.