Vermeer painting

The World

It’s one of the world’s most recognisable paintings but experts at a German art gallery say that “Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window,” by Johannes Vermeer, was significantly altered after his death. Experts in Dresden are restoring the masterpiece to its original state and they’ve just unveiled what they say is — in effect — a completely different painting. The BBC’s Jenny Hill reports. 

Are you with The World?

The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.

When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.