Rijksmuseum Announces List of Vermeer Paintings in Landmark Exhibition

The works in the exhibition  

1. A Lady Writing, 1664–67, National Gallery of Art, Washington 
2. A Young Woman seated at a Virginal, c. 1670–72, The National Gallery, London 
3. A Young Woman standing at a Virginal, 1670–72, The National Gallery, London 
4. Allegory of the Catholic Faith, 1670–74, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
5. Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, 1654–55, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
6. Diana and her Nymphs, 1655–56, Mauritshuis, The Hague 
7. Girl Interrupted at Her Music, c. 1659–61, The Frick Collection, New York 
8. Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, 1657-58, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden 
9. Girl with a Flute, 1664–67, National Gallery of Art, Washington 
10. Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1664–67, Mauritshuis, The Hague  
11. Girl with the Red Hat, 1664–67, National Gallery of Art, Washington 
12. Mistress and Maid, c. 1665–67, The Frick Collection, New York 
13. Officer and Laughing Girl, 1657-58, The Frick Collection, New York 
14. Saint Praxedis, 1655, Kufu Company Inc., The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
15. The Geographer, 1669, Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main 
16. The Glass of Wine, c. 1659-61, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie 
17. The Lacemaker, 1666–68, Musée du Louvre, Paris 
18. The Love Letter, 1669-70, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 
19. The Milkmaid, 1658-59, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 
20. The Procuress, 1656, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
21. View of Delft, 1660-61, Mauritshuis, The Hague  
22. View of Houses in Delft, known as ‘The Little Street’, 1658-59, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
23. Woman Holding a Balance, ca. 1662–64, National Gallery of Art, Washington
24. Woman in blue Reading a Letter, 1662-64, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam 
25. Woman with a Pearl Necklace, c. 1662-64, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie
26. Woman Writing a Letter, with her Maid, 1670–72, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
27. Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, c. 1670‐72, The Leiden Collection, New York
28. Young Woman with a Lute, 1662–64, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

The Exhibition Vermeer

At least 28 paintings out of Vermeer’s very small oeuvre will be loaned from museums and collections from Europe, the United States and Japan. In an extraordinary gesture the Frick Collection will lend all three of its Vermeer masterpieces to the exhibition:  The Girl Interrupted at Her Music, Officer and Laughing Girl, and Mistress and Maid.  The Rijksmuseum exhibition will be the first time that all three paintings are shown together outside of New York since they were acquired more than a century ago.  Two paintings have undergone extensive examination at the Rijksmuseum prior to the exhibition.  

Additional highlights include The Girl with a Pearl Earring (Mauritshuis, The Hague), The Geographer (Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main), Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid (The National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, Woman Holding a Balance (The National Gallery of Art, Washington DC), The Glass of Wine (Gemäldegalerie, Berlin), Young Woman with a Lute (Metropolitan Museum, NYC) and The Lacemaker (Louvre, Paris).  Works never before shown to the public in the Netherlands will include the newly restored Girl Reading a Letter at the Open Window from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden.  The Rijksmuseum itself owns four masterpieces by Vermeer: The Milkmaid, The Little Street, Woman Reading a Letter and The Love Letter.  

The exhibition will be presented at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam from 10 February until 4 June 2023 and will be the only venue.  

New Research 

The latest research has unearthed new sources that shed light on the painter and his personal circumstances.  As a result, we know more about his social position, his living environment and his contacts with artists and fellow citizens. Modern scanning techniques have accelerated research into Vermeer over the past decades.  A team of curators, conservators and scientists from the Rijksmuseum have been collaborating closely with colleagues from the Mauritshuis in The Hague and the University of Antwerp to conduct new research into Vermeer’s paintings. The techniques used for this investigation include the advanced Macro-XRF and RIS scanning technologies.  

Recent research into Vermeer’s painting The Milkmaid have brought to light two objects on the artist’s world-famous canvas: a jug holder and a fire basket.  The artist himself later painted over the objects.  The most recent scans also uncovered what is clearly an underpainting. Utilising similar technology, underpainting has also been noted in additional paintings such as Woman holding a balance from the National Gallery in Washington.  The conventional understanding that Vermeer painted slowly and with great thought must therefore be revised.  His end results may appear introverted and contemplative, but his working method is virtuosic and rigorous.  

Johannes Vermeer

Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) lived and worked in Delft.  His work is best known for his tranquil, introverted interior scenes, his unprecedented use of bright, colorful light and his convincing illusionism.  In contrast to Rembrandt, Vermeer left a remarkably small oeuvre of 37 paintings.   

Publications  

• Vermeer 
  A publication providing new insights into Vermeer will accompany the exhibition. All works by Vermeer will be included and discussed together.   
  Authors: Gregor J.M. Weber, Pieter Roelofs and others.   
  Designed by Irma Boom 
  320 pages, Dutch and English edition, German and French edition in preparation  Published in collaboration with Hannibal Books.    
  
  
• Johannes Vermeer. Faith, Light and Reflection 
  Author: Gregor J.M. Weber 
  Designed by Irma Boom 
  168 pages, Dutch and English edition 
  Published by the Rijksmuseum  
  

- *Miffy x Vermeer* 
Designed by Irma Boom 
40 pages, Dutch and English edition 
Published by the Rijksmuseum and Mercis

Exhibition Design

The design of the Vermeer exhibition is by the French architect and designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte. The scenography of the exhibition is based on the framing, the compositions and the staging so characteristic of Vermeer. The Rijksmuseum works with Wilmotte since 2004, when Wilmotte & Associés Architectes was commissioned to design the museum's scenography for the new Rijksmuseum, which opened in 2013. He also designed the Glass Room for Operation Night Watch.

Online experience

Get closer to Vermeer in the online experience, with the most beautiful details, stories and latest insights into the life and work of the great master. Available on the Rijksmuseum website in January 

Symposium

In collaboration with the Mauritshuis, the Rijksmuseum will be organising a two-day symposium in March 2023, focusing on recent technical and art-historical research.  

The exhibition Vermeer is made possible in part by Ammodo, Bockbusterfonds, Rijksmuseum International Circle, Rijksmuseum Patrons and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.