It’s not unusual for museums around the world to hold an exhibition dedicated to Johannes Vermeer – who is considered one of the most famous Dutch painters, alongside names like Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Mondrian. However, it’s rare for Vermeer’s works to be brought together in a museum in his homeland for an exhibition.
The Dutch National Museum - Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. - Photo: Internet
The exhibition, which will be held at the Rijksmuseum in 2023, will not just be an ordinary exhibition, but will be considered the largest gathering of Vermeer's works ever.
In addition to the four works owned by the Museum, including "The Milkmaid" and "Woman Reading a Letter", other works are also borrowed by the Rijksmuseum from many museums around the world such as: "Girl with a Pearl Earring" (Mauritshuis Museum, Netherlands), "The Geographer" (Stadel Museum, Germany), "Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid" (National Museum of Ireland), "Woman Holding a Balance" (National Gallery of Art, USA) and "Girl Reading a Letter at the Open Window" (Gemaldegalerie Alte Meister Museum, Germany).
Painting "Woman Reading a Letter"
The painting "The Milkmaid"
Martine Gosselink, Director of the Mauritshuis Museum, said: "The Girl with a Pearl Earring is a Dutch girl famous all over the world, and we are delighted to be able to lend it to create a collaboration between our two museums. We will miss her dearly while she is away, but a Vermeer exhibition without the Girl with a Pearl Earring is not a true Vermeer exhibition."
"We didn't expect so many museums to be willing to lend their masterpieces, and we're incredibly grateful for that," said Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits. "With this exhibition, we're presenting Vermeer's paintings on an unprecedented scale, and will present the latest research on Vermeer."
"It is difficult for researchers to travel between museums to see each of the artist's paintings," he added. Therefore, the exhibition at the Rijksmuseum, scheduled from February 10 to June 4, 2023, will be a suitable place for researchers and the public to get up close to Vermeer's paintings without spending much time or effort.
The painting "The Little Street" is also a work by Johannes Vermeer and is owned by the Rijksmuseum.
Johannes Vermeer was born in 1632 and lived and worked in Delft, a region in the west of the Netherlands. He is one of the most famous artists in history, along with Rembrandt, Van Gogh and Picasso, but very few people know about him and his works. He was virtually unknown as an artist before his death at the age of 43 in 1675.
Vermeer is believed to have painted 35 paintings, 23 of which were exhibited 26 years ago at the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague, Netherlands. Now, the latest technology in art research has revealed the meticulous, dedicated process with which he worked on his paintings, which took long periods of time and used the most expensive pigments of the time.
