Rijksmuseum, masterpieces for major Vermeer exhibition announced. New research on some famous paintings

Opening on Feb. 10 and on view until June 4, 2023, is the major exhibition that the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is dedicating to Johannes Vermeer, showcasing works by the celebrated artist from around the world. A team of curators, conservators and researchers have worked closely together to carry out new research on Vermeer’s paintings using the latest technology. These have shed new light on the painter’s life and work, the artistic choices and motivations behind his works, and the creative process behind his painting.

The museum has announced the list of Vermeer’s works that will be exhibited: at least twenty-eight of his paintings will be on loan from museums and collections in Europe, the United States, and Japan. From the Frick Collection will come on loan Interrupted Concert, Soldier with Smiling Girl, and Fantesca Handing a Letter to a Lady: acquired more than a century ago, the three masterpieces will on this occasion be exhibited together for the first time outside New York. Two of them have now undergone in-depth examination for the exhibition.

Among the masterpieces will be The Girl with a Pearl Earring (Mauritshuis, The Hague), The Geographer (Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main), Woman Writing a Letter in the Presence of Her Maid (The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin), Weighing Woman with Pearls or Woman with Scales (The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC), The Wine Glass (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin), Lute Player (Metropolitan Museum, NYC), The Lacemaker (Louvre, Paris), and Woman Reading a Letter in Front of a Window, recently restored by the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden. The Rijksmuseum itself also has four Vermeer masterpieces that will be added to the exhibition: the Milkmaid, the Street, Woman in Blue Reading a Letter and Love Letter.

“This exhibition offers an unprecedented opportunity to see such a large number of Vermeer’s paintings brought together in one place. It is an exciting prospect for the public and for all Vermeer lovers, as well as for researchers, conservators and art historians. We are extremely grateful to the partner museums and organizations that have made this exhibition possible with exceptional and generous loans,” said Taco Dibbits, Director General of the Rijksmuseum.

Recent research on Vermeer’s The Milkmaid has uncovered two objects on the canvas: a pitcher and a brazier that the artist later covered. Using the most technologically advanced scans, the underlying painting was clearly uncovered. Using similar technology, a painting was also discovered underneath the Weigher of Pearls (or Woman with a Scales) in the National Gallery in Washington. The belief that Vermeer painted slowly and thoughtfully must therefore be revised.

Gregor J.M. Weber, Head of Fine Arts at the Rijksmuseum and co-curator of the exhibition, said, “Vermeer’s painting technique has always had a kind of mystery. How did he create this miracle of light and color? Thanks to the discovery of an underlying drawing, we can now get a much more complete idea of his working method.”

Image: Johannes Vermeer, The Girl with the Pearl Earring or The Girl with the Turban, detail (ca. 1665; oil on canvas, 44.5 x 39 cm; The Hague, Mauritshuis)

Rijksmuseum, masterpieces for major Vermeer exhibition announced. New research on some famous paintings

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