In what year was the painting restored?

The painting was restored in 1994.

That treatment was carried out after the work had accumulated discolored varnish and signs of earlier interventions. Removing the aged surface coating clarified the contrast between the girl’s face, the blue-and-yellow head covering, and the dark background. The restoration also helped recover subtle details in the expression and gaze that had become harder to see.

The year can be confusing because the restoration is sometimes described as the 1994–1995 treatment. The principal restoration began in 1994, so 1994 is the standard answer used in concise references and trivia questions. It was not the painting’s only conservation treatment: the work had also been treated earlier in the twentieth century, including interventions in 1915 and 1922.

Modern research has gone beyond ordinary cleaning. Conservators have used microscopy, infrared imaging, X-ray fluorescence, and other methods to study Vermeer’s pigments and technique. Those investigations show that the apparently minimal image contains carefully layered paint and that some visible features, including the pearl, are created with remarkably economical brushwork.