In February-March 2018 an international team of art experts spent two weeks studying the painting in a specially constructed glass workshop in the museum, open to observation by the public. The non-invasive research project included removing the work from its frame for study with microscopes, X-ray equipment and a special scanner to learn more about the methods and materials used by Vermeer. The project, with the name "The Girl in the Spotlight", was headed by Abbie Vandivere, conservator at the Mauritshuis, and results were published by the Mauritshuis. A blog by Vandivere reveals many details of the project.