Damage to Vermeer painting at National Gallery in 1968 attack revealed

The damage from an unsolved attack to a Johannes Vermeer painting at the National Gallery has finally been revealed.

A photograph of the 1968 attack suggests that the culprit attempted to remove the face at the centre of the Lady Seated at a Virginal artwork.

In the photo, marks appear around the woman’s head, while a slash runs from her hair to the bottom of her face, passing between the middle of her eyes.

At the time, the gallery’s trustees stated publicly that no canvas was removed and that the paint loss was minimal, resulting in a lack of press coverage.

They decided against releasing photographs of the damage to deny the vandal any attention and prevent future incidents, according to The Art Newspaper who first revealed the photo.

The culprit behind the attack has never been identified.

Losing the entirety of the woman’s head in the painting would have made it impossible to fully restore the piece of art, meaning it likely would have been taken off display permanently.

The attack took place on March 22, 1968, in a Dutch cabinet room at the National Gallery, London.

A visitor noticed damage to the painting just after midday, but assumed it had already been reported.

It was not until 1pm that a second visitor alerted the staff to the attack, which led to the art being taken down.

Following restoration work to the damaged area, the painting went back on display in another room on April 11, just three weeks after the attack, but protected with perspex.

Vermeer painted around 40 pieces of art during his lifetime, and some have been lost or significantly damaged over time.

Linked to a poster campaign

It is not known why the culprit attacked the Lady Seated at a Virginal, and the incident went unreported in the gallery’s annual report.

Trustees at the National Gallery believe the vandalism was linked to a poster campaign that featured the painting in 1968.

According to The Art Newspaper, Martin Davies, the then-museum director, told his trustees: “I was alarmed to notice that the attendant on duty, from his chair at one end of the room, could see only ten of the 25 pictures.

“The small number of visitors that morning was a further disturbing factor; one important protection to the pictures is that plenty of visitors should be about in the rooms.”

The painting remains in the National Gallery and the damage is undetectable to the naked eye.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.