by Nupur Tustin
One. Two. Three.
An exquisitely rendered Dutch interior met their eyes. Apart from the lemon yellow hue of the seated woman’s jacket, the painting wasn’t as bright as Underwood’s copy had been. The theorbo-lute player’s garments were a dull brown. And the standing singer was clad in a gray gown.
“This is it,” Penny whispered. “It’s our Vermeer.” She pointed to the singer’s gray gown. “These are the signs of abrasion Underwood’s copy didn’t capture. Vermeer used a thin glaze of ultramarine blue over a gray ground for the dress. But you can see how the blue has degraded over time.”
There were tears in her eyes when she turned to Celine.
“I don’t know how to thank you, my dear. I don’t know what to say. I can’t believe we’ve got back not one but two of our treasures. And it’s all thanks to you.”
“Thank Dirck,” Celine said, blinking back her own tears. “He and John kept your treasures safe all these years. And Dirck lost his life trying to return them.”
A flicker of movement caught her attention. She lifted her eyes. Dirck stood at the rear of the bar, his figure shimmering in a radiant glow of light. The Lady—Isabella Stewart Gardner—stood beside him.
He’s ready to say goodbye, Sister Mary Catherine whispered. He’s ready to go.
Goodbye, Celine said. A haze of tears obscured her vision. She wasn’t ready to let him go. But she didn’t have a choice.
Goodbye, she whispered again.
Don’t worry, Celine. Belle will lead Dirck into the light.
The End
Author’s Note
On March 18, 1990, the Gardner Museum in Boston was robbed. Thirteen items were taken. and these have yet to be recovered. While the heist remains unsolved, Stephen Kurkjian’s Master Thieves provides the most comprehensive account of the theft and the most plausible theory of what might have happened.
I have naturally concocted my own theory.
We know very little about either Johannes Vermeer or his technique. But reasonable speculations can be made based on what we see in Vermeer’s art.
Philip Steadman’s Vermeer’s Camera provides a thought-provoking argument about the artist’s use of the camera obscura. But even Steadman has been unable to explain a curious quality of Vermeer’s underdrawings. There are no lines.
How can that be?
Artist Jane Jelley answers that question with a highly unusual but extremely compelling theory in Traces of Vermeer. I’ve attributed her ideas to my fictitious professor, Frank van Mieris.
Jeffrey Wands’ The Psychic in You and Noreen Renier’s A Mind for Murder were my primary sources for Celine’s psychic abilities.
About the Author
A former journalist, Nupur Tustin misuses a Ph.D. in Communication and an M.A. in English to paint intrigue. She also orchestrates mayhem in composer Joseph Haydn’s Europe.
In addition to writing, she enjoys composing music and painting. She lives in Southern California with her husband and three rambunctious children.
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