with blue shoes. ah, a deceptively simple image. yon premier's girl reading a letter at an open window from 1657. standing just beyond the curtain. she seems peaceful at one with herself and the moment. the letter hints at the presence of the world outside and into this calm, intimate moment, a figure intrudes a naked cupid. the god of love and desire was detected in an x ray analysis decades ago, but was largely ignored by the art world. now he's made a dramatic re entrance, a new restoration made clear that the cupid had been painted over by another artist after vermeer death. the revelation made headlines around the world. the german museum that owns the painting, the old masters, picture gallery or camella galaxy and dresden decided to uncover the figure so long concealed official. this really is unique. melissa basically means me writing the near scholarship. ah, a sensational outcome. after years of research. for centuries, people have been fascinated by the enigmatic paintings of yon vermeer. his works have long defied definitive interpretation. and that has made the artist the subject of highly contentious debates among the world's arts scholars in dresden, a well funded team of internationally renowned premier experts got to work using cutting edge technology. they got remarkable results. what started out as the restoration of a single painting, as led to the radical transformation of an iconic image. it was the art historical equivalent of open heart surgery. the removal of a layer of paint revealed a cupid and provided plenty of food for thought. as an a truly you have this iconic painting that is imprinted itself in our collective consciousness. now it's no longer there. it's been replaced by another paintings to ledesmond. as far as windsor furnaces for removing the paint is tantamount to a raising history by marlo vick meant to put on if we have the names here of individuals who may have painted over the mayor. tom, ah, are you one of those who are attracted by the unknown and unrecognized? are you curious of our mystery in reality? about shadow and light? the 2 extremes of both art and life. at the museum in the hague, a suit, purve, and utterly unique painting stops all visitors in their tracks. that makes a lasting impression on artists and connoisseurs alike. it's the view of the town of delved by young vaughan the mere these are the words of the man who rediscovered vermeer in 18. 65. in the nearly 2 centuries after the painter's death, his work had fallen into obscurity. we don't know a lot about from here he is known as the sphinx of dells because we know so little about his life. he lived in delft, which is a town in the netherlands and he had lots of children more than 10 children. so how he got time to paint, i dont know known as yawn or yo harness premier is the most famous son of delta, the city where he spent his entire life. he was born here in 1632 and ara later called the dutch golden age. a time of unprecedented prosperity for the netherlands when the arts and sciences flourished along with international trade in total. yon vermeer as a legacy amounts to just 37 paintings. but each of them is a masterpiece and guaranteed ticket seller for any exhibition. all of them were produced in delphi. vermeer lived on volta scoffed for many years, right around the corner from the st. lucas artists guild, of which he was a member. he moved homes just once and thus lived his whole life within a radius of 100 meters. to day that tiny patch of del draws premier fans from around the world. vermeer only ever painted to exterior views. the rest of his works depict interiors. the outside world is present only in the light that pours in through lead glass windows. premier's compositions are a camera obscura, in the truest sense, darkened chambers with light entering from one solitary point. space is characterized by a feeling of intimacy and concealment. they arouse in the viewer and urge to unravel a mystery. his paintings are a 3 dimensional experience. ah, vermeer conjured up fleeting moments with a power that enthralls no adherent of strict realism, he frequently changed the scale and form of objects. many of his pictorial elements were inspired by the well to do homes of the burgeoning middle class. ah, the perspective geometry of the floor tops. ida was from every day life an artist with an imagination that opened up new horizons. and vermeer is very particular palette of colors which hailed in part from more exotic climes. and this is the blue pigment, called indigo, that would have come from faraway, either in asia or from the west indies. this is a yellow pigment called weld, that is made from a plant that probably grew in the netherlands. and when these 2 colors were mixed together, it would have made a transparent green ah, a new style of painting. incorporating the technological marbles of the time, yon premier's friendship with a lens grinder from del, introduced him to optical innovations like the camera obscura. and premier's imagination, the camera obscura was like the i, it's lens, the pupil. it's screen the retina, a pete box that cast images on to the wall. this was also the dawn of a new age in art, one that build a vacuum. a 100 years after the reformations, destructive iconoclasm. in 1566 protestant iconoclast christians, who saw depictions of religious figures as blasphemous, destroyed paintings in churches across dealt oh, they also rebelled against the curtains that had traditionally been draped across the churches. holiest and most revered paintings to protect them from the masses. ah, the painted curtain would eventually become a motif in its own right. deployed once again by various dutch painters in the mid 17th century. i am bound via the 8 is rembrandt. was the 1st to paint the frame complete with kersin, right into the pitcher in this field he 9 of and then this is east also there. vanderfull island said the exterior curtain now becomes a motif i am been martine. an illusionary trick called tom loi. literally meaning deception of the i i know, and that is i, you could also see it is us, the view is being deceived, terry matter valley, because we see the image of a curtain which invites us to try and see behind it. van un sites basin seen swan keith, but that desire to see more about what's hidden behind the curtain is not just about some of the world view or a view from a window. there's a lot of, i'm fine spouse gleick from wanton so and then meet metaphorically. it's about wanting to see more through the medium of art in beers on and from there, my leg, i pay, it can be interpreted as the genesis of our appreciation. be powerful. i'm out there constantly, papa. i 15. at the peak of the golden age, dutch artists were producing $70000.00 paintings a year. a prolific rate, unprecedented in the history of art does positions and it's very apt for the 17th century, more a time when concepts of time and space were being revolutionized. wandering idle up to that point, it if the world was considered to be in gods, hands and pre determined mia, it's foy, it's in the 17th century. people began to see themselves as self determining style can call me john ramirez. paintings are and remain, superbly devised invitations to explore new worlds for me just as taller and isn't that what i love about this painting is that it's such a small room, but the longer you look at it, the more expensive the room becomes saw, it's opens up to the hall, my references this early work from $1657.00 already incorporates premier's core elements. the use of light. the transient moment. busy the suggestion of a narrative ah, pushed it. it's ox, yo fancy and imagination, monica suddenly, you're in a different world. and just as the woman re debbie is in another, walton lou, one of various worlds brought to life by johan, his premier interiors, where the 4th wall is cast aside as premier gives us moments of intimacy where the ages. ah and yet for a time vermeer work was forgotten until a re discovery in dresden augustus the 3rd king of poland, an elector of saxony, military commander, and one of the greatest art patrons of his time. a man with visionary plans, they included the creation of an art gallery, so grand, all of europe would hear of it. the clinic is stopped by to some the king had a series of paintings ready for the connection. on initially, they were housed in what were still in the 17th century, the royal stables, about us in zips in yelled at us. i'm saying this is whether the mer to galleria was established or he can they to get it done english. did that over the royal gallery, essentially became a proton museum, a temple of art open to all a presentation of his majesty's good taste or bonn, goof. the monarch as arbiter deciding which works were worthy of display. all was that though gus is the 3rd was a real connoisseur half a. he took an active interest in painting and was directly involved in the acquisitions. he made the tie leash while though the major hubs of the fine art trade were some distance away. the 17th century saw a veritable frenzy of art collecting both in italy and france, and especially in paris. on the flourishing french market, the principal buyers were cardinals, royalty the aristocracy, the clergy and monasteries purchasing by a correspondence with their agents on the spot. collectors hosted the 1st public exhibitions of contemporary art by the 18th century auctions were already playing a major role in paris. art dealer's 1st began to emerge all documents paint a vivid picture of how augustus was able to build up his unique collection carrying on pets ish, the a mysteries from saxony dispatched an alert, at least, and about the impending sale of an important connection with a cough dutch and flemish artists were producing paintings of the highest quality, but augustus, as agents in paris, were after something else. the prized collection of victor amadeus, the burst of savoy, the prince of connie, all eyes is absent. and when the prince of karen yano died in france in 1741, the chief concern for augustus was his collection of italian paintings. which is why he sent his agents to paris again. not bobby's. ah, the market was a highly competitive one. with the kings of france and portugal, among the bitters, augustus employed a range of park savvy experts and the flemish conservatory. in total, he managed to acquire 30 paintings from the colony, all collections, spending a fortune in the process. when julia tube he stood we can see him which paintings from the famous prints of carin. yeah, no collection went from paris to saxony. you'll on that one too. i hoped, and the most prominent among them was a gift beat isis in my id to an e powder shooter. mushy as meaning. granted on top of the trade. so a present shake. ah, don't renew. good did dub roku a quick signals host of ha as wanted in a among the many paintings received. i your excellency. you one is i rembrandt get this. i'm from the him. punt looks his aunt all engine c t. v said he jennifer in it. thus, as depicting a young girl reading across from a window on his fence, thus he's ah, ah, this man wilmington is being mistaken for rembrandt. it is due solely to the painted curtain. the curtain was the key elements of the masterpiece. busy an invitation to take a closer look at the scene. this means that by adding a painted curtain, rembrandt was declaring this painting of his ease as to be a masterpiece. i my fish took the cloudy. this isn't good. thank and. and it was a gift to a friend, would that so it had to be valuable while anderson and hugh was the most celebrated dutch painter, rembrandt. linus off. and that for me is the reason why this painting, which was obviously very valuable, ended up going to to wastin as a rembrandt called us and give it a full and pump. ah, so after being given the list of paintings, the king said, i want that one, that one and that one. then he told is cheap emissary in paris to verify an essential question. authenticity. transportation was another issue with the wet autumn weather create problems. what about the temperature? and could the paintings be rolled up and a cylinder? eventually the paintings from the colony on collection arrived in dresden. there they were soon put on display in the king's new museum. ah, one picture was kept from public view. the one given to the king as a present. the girl reading a letter was placed in the king's chambers. the painting was now part of an exclusive and illustrious group, one that included the very best of dutch painting. a privileged position shrouded in mystery. it was hidden away in the private rooms of the ruler of saxony and poland, measuring $83.00 by $64.00 and a half centimeters. this every day seen by a dutch master graced the king's cabinet room, discover nets being an integral part of the palace's ceremonial apartments. access to the cabinet was obviously restricted to gain a room where the king could retreat, crooning alone or with guests to contemplate his paintings her at pleasure, uncooked on the paintings. there were almost exclusively dutch and flemish works depicting generic seals in the after it's constructed intimacy, intimidated, ah, on the ticket is a spirit, mom, entering this picture is not straightforward for you 1st have to go past the curtain, then across the rug pick. and suddenly there you are mando now your parts of event . so she ends although events is almost incorrect as nothing is actually happening . there is no story huntsville. busy ah, all you see, is this woman completely absorbed in what she's doing? oh, what might she be reading? her concentrated face is reflected in the window. oh, how does this woman feel imprisoned or free like the world beyond her window questions that retain their fascination to this day? by 1765, the painting had left the king's private rooms and could now be seen in dresden, cml de gallery. busy busy busy this morgan ada godaddy. is thee camille, the gal that he and i easton is on par with the leuva in terms of the quality of the paintings at the stump. this was also true in the 18th century life from rural . but brown says, your own connection in the louvre was completely inaccessible to the public. at this time, a singing mitten, a hit when placed in his gmail. the gallery opened in 1746. come emmy, one way tish and he artist students with all bank capital. and we know this from the visit to reco dixon. it could go inside into connecticut at a higher, ah, a feast of gold and color accessible to wall, regardless of their social class or origins. ah, ah tazza to split least and suddenly have this well renowned collection victim that so all the artists who used to make the journey to montana and rome now had to go to the eastern listener. knock, listen, ah, augustus. the third's passion for art extended far beyond the borders of saxony. the birth of this now legendary collection would always be associated with the monarch. dresden is still referred to as the florence of the north. a home for art, a celebration of beauty in the form of a public collection, for every one to see as it's in its infancy, in 1775. for camille de gallery, su, done. you catalogue. made a go to the thick of mailed a gallery, had a convenient place. small folks could easily accessible for visitors. soft that that was characteristic, a symbol on and suddenly to the vimeo, pops off and stood still listed as rembrandt girl reading out a window. but he took a minute ago to v o, fixation. and what of course, it's of a mac from van now on to so that much the official entry of this painting into like a male to gallery, to go to the and how it was inducted into the history of aunt quin squished ah. rediscovering vermeer for the art world. this was etienne yosef tail feel ta ways. quest. he would spend almost 10 years of his life tracking down the sphinx of dealt as he called the artist. talk way, travelled frequently between the hague and brussels, and later to berlin found spike and vienna. he examined various collections, recommending this superlative dutch, men's works to his wealthy friends and newcomers to the art market. a painter who was still relatively unknown due to the small number of his works. other people had helped to identify premier's paintings. but credit for truly resurrecting the painters legacy goes to toby. ah, guided by comments written by a berlin museum director toys journey eventually took him to dresden there in the royal gallery of augustus. the 3rd torbay was able to identify 2 works by yon vermeer, a triumph ah, among all the old masters on the walls. with these 2, he recognised something ineffable. he'd seen it and all the other premier paintings in brussels, berlin, and vienna. they had been painted by the hand of vermeer. ah for me, ellis, if she lives in sun blew them off for mere leaves. a great deal in his paintings. open an unresolved top. he works with nuances splendid and in general, with subtle modification must fit with what we call the atmospheric indies. and in doing so, he entices us into this atmosphere ish. it seeped him build on anna. i enjoy it in a way. he introduces ambiguity and coaxes our imagination so that we think that something unresolved that contact we want to take a better look at to find out more astonished question on you start bringing this picture to life in your mind and my am close to the spirit to believe them on when it comes to the relationship between a work of often it's observer kong, what could be better? what's his dea, a monkey, not soon. ah, abby vandeveer has spent years examining what is indisputably one of the most famous paintings in the history of art. vermeer is girl with the pearl airing of painting that's been celebrated on the big screen, interpreted and reinterpreted over the centuries by a host of observers. from the church to royalty, art historians and museum directors to day scientific experts deploy state of the art analysis. really, we wanted to see with these new technologies and with an group of international researchers with lots of different equipment and lots of different expertise, bringing them altogether and find out how much we could find out about the painting as a whole. and from that, some amazing discoveries came up that we hadn't even expected from the beginning. modern technology, shifting the narrative, when it comes to old masterpieces. the new technological options are tantalizing. with their promise to let us take a peek over the artists shoulder during the process of creation. ah we took the painting off of her usual spot here on the wall and brought her to the golden room of the modest house on especially built easel inside a glass enclosure. and within that enclosure, over a 2 week period, scientists and their equipment. we're used to examine the painting to day scientific analyses routinely use a wide range of imaging devices such as x rays and infrared reflex ta graphy. microscopic examinations and even invasive microscopic procedures take place and sterile laboratories. and sometimes in full view of the public, it was important for us to keep the painting visible to the public because this is a very important painting that the public love very much. after all, who doesn't love the painting dubbed the mona lisa of the north. the girl with the blue turban and that irresistible glint in her eye, and of course the earring, a mere whisper of white premier's masterpiece, has practically become a pop culture event. with modern discoveries, drawing a new generation of visitors, we knew from samples that were taken in the 19 ninety's that originally the background had a different color that on top of a black under layer for mir applied a glaze that contains to pigments. one of them blue, indigo, and one of them yellow called weld. so this glazed, this transparent layer on top would have been a very dark green. but then in the top right corner we discovered some diagonal lines. so with this information and the knowledge now that these pigments, these yellow and blue pigments were used, makes us now realised that the background was originally a green curtain. the last green curtain, the tension between concealment and revelation. it draws us in. now what had begun with an x ray analysis for decades ago was set to be resolved. the initial discovery was ignored by international art scholars who assumed the over painting had been done by vermeer himself. but had it then expectant a d among the experts who advised augustus the third's ancients in paris was the flemish man. ha. i was bent the painter under restorer. how could this shall young battista slots slots is? and he was famous for his talent for storing in we painting. and the touching up works sheehan, including venza flemish and dutch pain tests and made this in the south. we know that he also restored a number of paintings from the carrying yano collection. and prior to that arrival in placed an enough place to close it. upset now doesn't of all we can say of course whether that girl reading a letter was one of these is, is but it's a legitimate assumption. antonini, perhaps m r artists, or restorers who came along later, wanted to a sort of update the paintings to appeal more to the sensibilities of the time. so for instance, young woman reading a letter at an open window, perhaps in the time that it was over painted. they wanted to the viewer to concentrate on the stillness, the beauty, the concentration of the woman, and not be distracted by the cupid behind her. as blood speculative volume of slither, grandma aluminum and why it was over painted remains a point of speculation and will never be precisely explained. i know quick tour for me. it seems like a subsequent correction. for me. it's a very early the man tish between beulah uncorked than consisted a of i it kind of so and if you look at his later paintings your, he largely leaves out allegorical additions like this from, from ya and course, who can as i was voc stickers, perhaps some connoisseur of him is work said to now he never would have painted it like that in his later period that corrected as he would have an a raise this fresco in the back on stay desert jesus to the fresco sikander in 2019 the cml de galleria greeted the art sensation of the year. the picture had a new feature, cupid, the god of love and desire. i jumped to close to him when we decided to restore the girl reading a letter we made use of all available analytical techniques. was into a great surprise off if we realized that this over painting was not by vermeer him that but must have been done several decades later by someone else to adams. i was as good as us and the painting was bought and brought to tristan as a rembrandt. but this strange and rowdy cupid in the background would have been out of place in iran, france just the past. a revelation. a more colorful, playful side to vermeer. but what would the experts say an international team gathered to hear the man in charge of restoration? explain why the gear feared i english by that us de leon got off. he knows that said mind, what are strategy for the restoration seeks to do is to put the painting in the condition in which it might have left the art studio hunter. as always nice hawk. initially it was a shock and other but this opens up whole new avenues of interpretation in lucas kaden front. i told me unquestionably, exposing the cupid figure gives the picture of our clearer message. ah, either kid come on over fog, but almost us all can. conversely, you can also ask why the so called original is so important. why go back in times if for sure you can say, because this was al vermeer painted it off, was likely for me as that if we now claim to be capable of recreating the original picture in that we would have to 1st learn to see things as they did in the 17th century, read aloud and v m. zip to ya. not say about suzanne. there is the tendency to have to weigh the historical value of changes that have happened to an object over time versus the artist's original intention. and is it important to preserve those historical changes or to bring back a painting as close as it was to when vermeer painted it? ah, it's a debate that now accompanies the work of yon vermeer like a shadow. and i have i it is. and that decision was also a brave one with the previous history, going back to 1979. people knew after we x ray, that there was something underneath. i 1st went alley. when he does a showed which i was in mine, aga after french i and chrome was on gavia. they could have said, yes, we do know about the over painting and what used to be hidden behind it. and a happy to pass on that knowledge is this game, or we can still live with how it's been for centuries, him leap because that's also a part of its history history. and now this over painting is in turn being a raised visit grandma. so removing the paint is tantamount to a rising history fast. so it was fiona consists, after all, bermonte, the rebel model, victor. and in my experience, people are really excited when there is a new discovery on a painting that they have known for a long time. but on the other hand, there are also people who have known the painting to look this way for a very long time for hundreds of years. this paint has looked this way and it's going to take a certain amount of time to get used to how it looks now and to really rethink what this means within from years over until eaters countryman, in theory, i could always return it to that tradition which done other, but it's now being liberated with a scalpel that was used to scrape off the lands on and an english before i turn on to ultimately, another pleasant effect is that the colors now radiate a completely different vibrancy cuff to fla the sooner under the beautiful thing about the vermeer painting as it was until now a list is that it allows us to develop our own ideas on it as will actually quit to months. are you could talk about a mere appealing to mature. fewest hata. ah, an appeal to our sense of mystery. perhaps this explains the enduring fascination exerted by the works of yon vermeer, an artist who used enigma to stimulate viewers imagination by leaving so many interpretations open. vermeer can be seen as offering up a fundamentally democratic perspective in his art. and it was a king and dresden, who was one of the 1st in europe to open up this world to his subjects. his public gallery gave every one the opportunity to contemplate art as august it's it is little augustus. the 3rd is famous for being a real lover of painting. like if this is any straight it in an anecdote about the sistine chapel mcdonough by raphael, finish a little of this painting had been a quiet in italy after very complex negotiations that took about a year tie and and then it finally arrives in placed in one it was carried into the throne room with a king himself single handedly pushes his throne to one side and says, i make way for the great raphael. the king made way for art o yon fond de mer or yon of the sea, as he was sometimes called a painter who left vacant spaces in his art to spur our imaginations. a tantalizing promise of freedom. premier's masterpieces ended up in museums which have always served both as cultural arbiters and oases of freethinking every day. thousands of people view his paintings works originally intended only for private consumption by prosperous citizens of 17th century delft adorning the dark walls of dutch town houses. but what is it that we see in his art, and what role do museums play to day? are these traditional sanctuaries of independent thinking, becoming increasingly compromised? the moods of to gig, if we look at the present and the current culture was affected, we see ethics becoming increasingly important. vote on and artistic liberty no longer enjoying the same automatic respect that it used. it involves people. zia anglican baskets flies by the f. one notable example is the saatchi gallery in london. modest. it have a series of high profile scandals where the point was always to stir up the audience in order to generate headlines and visit numbers. who can only yell when gets ha pallets and suddenly we had the case of 2 paintings going on display. and that was so outrageous and problematic for some people that the gallery ended up deciding to cover them up. these you could even call it the vermeer effect as due to the sudden boom and interest in family outfit. men just said sisters in tessa and isn't boulogne the matter staked and does the cell, did you elect us? that's the dialectical logic and all of these current conflicts did the artists who are supposed to be banished and taken down. now enjoy an amazing amount of attention, making them a lot more popular william see for. so what this repressing or even removing of things leads to is if anything, people really starting to talk about these poems or paintings, turkish quote, oh, are we seeing a contemporary revival of the a conic lasts? museums are increasingly becoming cultural battle grounds as debates rage over what should be shown. many museums have their roots and a monarchy system. to day, their narrative authority is compromised. each other med in here and i believe the future lies in an involving public few sites. one for this one in exec are growing social diversity, digital natives and the alternative perspectives. they bring condensed to end of twin as he lamb game and, and we have to provide this public with a meaningful framework isis green. but here the old masters comply a special role in lana lang. i. tom also advise cynthia, an anchor, dad, they've been an anchor, the generations. they provide continuity passing on both love and knowledge of this . and i took it in after spending 300 years in our collective consciousness. girl reading a letter has been consigned to history. making way for new interpretations meet their high legal, the unveiling of the cheaper it makes the genre of the let it clear. the heath. i'm diety of it, but questions remain for east as even im, seeing the i met, is this a faithful love? briefly. aveena love form in the form of love remains ambivalent and enigmatic lady . luft in de obvious symbolism connected to the playing card is covered up by the painted curtain. he is able to extend bill for her for her on stand. this is the root of the ambiguity and the mystery flitted, then remains the thumb. oh blight. ah the eternal mystery of a love story revealed now by the uncovering of a cupid. should some things remain secret? what does art history stand to gain a new vermeer? the original art work. a new debate ah, the mystery of vermeer will continue to beguile us that much his certain, ah shift your guide to life in the digital world. explore the latest online trends. navigate your way through the digital jungle. get a global perspective. we'll be your guide and show you what's possible. you decide what really matters to you. shift in 15 minutes on d, w. i, the 77 percent south africa's shadow market is booming. many businesses operate underground, leaving the state empty handed. what are the consequences and the causes? you are an economist, our new research app. we are missing an aftermath of the, you know, older. i like to see that happen during cold, the 77 percent, 30 minutes on a d w. a scoring we say they were about giving up sports life every weekend on d w. ah ah, this is dw news live from berlin vladimir putin visits occupied. mario paul image is released by the kremlin report to show the russian leader in the ukrainian city, which russian force is captured in may, is, comes after an arrest warrant is issued against him for alleged war crimes committed, unoccupied ukraine. also coming up.