From the article: “recent laboratory tests established beyond doubt that the figure was overpainted decades after Vermeer completed it. “There was even a layer

From the article: “recent laboratory tests established beyond doubt that the figure was overpainted decades after Vermeer completed it. “There was even a layer of dirt above the original varnish on the Cupid, showing the painting had been in its original state for decades”” They mostly avoid the topic “why”, as far as I see.