Tuesday, November 1, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam announced the precise list of 28 paintings that will be part of its exhibition event dedicated to Johannes Vermeer. The masterpieces presented will be loaned by prestigious museums in New York, Tokyo, London, Berlin and Paris.
A little more than three months before its opening, the historical retrospective of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (Netherlands) devoted to Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) is revealed more. The largest exhibition presenting the artist's work will bring together 28 of the 35 known and recognized paintings by the painter. The event in collaboration with the Maurits huis in The Hague will take place from February 10 to June 4, 2023, just over three months. The Amsterdam museum has obtained loans from prestigious owners worldwide such as the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Frick Collection in New York, the National Gallery in London and the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.
Three paintings presented for the first time together outside of New York
The Maurits huis had managed to bring together 23 in 1996, the Louvre 12 in 2017. The Rijksmuseum has achieved a masterstroke here by bringing together 28 paintings of the Sphinx of Delft in the same event.
We already knew that the masterpieces kept at the Rijksmuseum and in The Hague were going to be part of the celebrations:
The Milkmaid (1658-1659),
The Girl with a Pearl Earring (1664-1667),
The View of Delft (1660-1661),
The Young Girl Reading a Letter in Front of an Open Window(1657-1658), from the recently restored Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden and shown for the first time in the Netherlands, the other participating institutions have just been revealed. To complete this bouquet of masterpieces, the Frick Collection in New York, currently under construction and temporarily installed at the Frick Madison , will lend its three precious Vermeers:
The Girl Interrupted in Her Music (1659-1661),
The Officer and the laughing girl (1657-1658),
The Mistress and the servant(1665-1667). The three paintings will thus be presented together for the first time outside of New York, since their acquisition more than a century ago. In addition to European museums such as the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, the National Galleries of Scotland, the Staatliche Museen in Berlin and the National Gallery of Ireland, some works from the Leiden Collection in New York and the National Gallery of Art in Washington will cross the Atlantic and the Saint Praxede (1655) will leave the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo for the duration of the exhibition.
Johannes Vermeer, Saint Praxede, 1655, oil on canvas, Kufu Company Inc., deposited at the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
If the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York temporarily separates from The Woman with a Lute (1662-1663) and The Allegory of Faith (1670-1674), The Sleeping Girl (1656-1657) will not come to Amsterdam . Same situation with the Louvre Museum which will lend La Dentellière (1666-1668) but will keep L'Astronome (1668). The Music Lesson (1662-1665) from the Royal Collection of England will not make the trip either , and The Concert (1664-1667) from the Isabella-Stewart-Gardner Museum (Boston), stolen in 1990, will shine by its absence.
Johannes Vermeer, Woman with a Lute, circa 1662-1664, The Metropolitan Museum of Art/Art Resource/Scala, Florence
Scientific research carried out to unravel the mystery of Vermeer's paintings
A research is also being carried out by the Dutch museum, the Maurits huis and the University of Antwerp on Vermeer's technique.
A first team of curators, restorers and scientists has already analyzed seven paintings by the artist kept in the Netherlands. The results notably revealed repaints on the iconic Milkmaid. All these studies aim to pierce the mystery of the life and works of the Sphinx of Delft, from his artistic choices and motivations for his compositions to his creative process. "There has always been something mysterious about Vermeer's painting technique ," explains Gregor JM Weber, head of the Rijksmuseum's Fine Arts department and co-curator of the exhibition. How did he accomplish this miracle of light and color? With the discovery of a first sketch in black paint, we get a much better idea of his working method . »
We love Vermeer, a preview video of the exhibition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xZbQySKobk&t=1s
Here is the list of the 28 paintings promised by the Rijksmuseum:
The Interrupted Letter , 1664-1667, National Gallery of Art, Washington
Woman seated before her virginal , c. 1670-1672, The National Gallery, London
Woman Standing Before Her Virginal , 1670-1672, The National Gallery, London
The Allegory of Faith , 1670-1674, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Christ with Martha and Mary , 1654-1655, National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh
Diana and her nymphs , 1655-1656, Mauritshuis, The Hague
The Interrupted Music Lesson , c. 1659-1661, The Frick Collection, New York
The Young Girl Reading a Letter in Front of an Open Window , 1657-1658, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
The Pied Piper, 1664-1667, National Gallery of Art, Washington
Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1664-1667, Mauritshuis, The Hague
Young Girl in a Red Hat , 1664-1667, National Gallery of Art, Washington
Lady and her servant , c. 1665-1667, The Frick Collection, New York
Laughing Soldier and Maiden , 1657-1658, The Frick Collection, New York
Saint Praxede, 1655, The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo
The Geographer , 1669, Städel Museum, Frankfurt
Gentleman and Lady Drinking Wine , c. 1659-1661, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie
The Lacemaker , 1666-1668, Louvre Museum, Paris
The Love Letter , 1669-1670, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Milkmaid , 1658-1659, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Courtesan , 1656, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
View of Delft , 1660-1661, Mauritshuis, The Hague
The Alley , 1658-1659, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Woman with the Balance , ca. 1662-1664, National Gallery of Art, Washington
The Woman in Blue Reading a Letter , 1662-1664, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Woman with a Pearl Necklace , c. 1662-1664, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie
The Letter , 1670-1672, National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin
Woman seated before her virginal , c. 1670‐1672, The Leiden Collection, New York
Woman with a Lute , 1662-1664, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York