This earlier research suggested that the male figure was not the work of Vermeer, but by an unidentified artist. The NGA specialists therefore now argue that the male portrait could be his own work; this “has not yet been proven or denied”. Based on the man’s costume (particularly his broad-brimmed hat and collar with a tasselled tie), the composition can be dated to 1650-55. A 1676 inventory compiled after Vermeer’s death shows that he had then owned two male heads by Fabritius; he could also have had other panels which he reused. Only about a dozen paintings by Fabritius are known, so if the underpainting was by him then this would represent a significant addition to his oeuvre.