For the first time in its history, the Rijksmuseum in the Dutch capital Amsterdam is preparing for an exhibition entirely devoted to national legend Johannes Vermeer. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Rijksmuseum and the Mauritshuis in The Hague.
–
–
Johannes Vermeer was born in Delft in 1632, where he lived and worked all his life. When he died in 1675, he had barely made a name for himself as a painter. It was not until the 19th century that works by Vermeer received more and more attention.
–
–
The tranquil, introverted interior scenes that he depicted with a lot of attention to light, grew into worldwide masterpieces, four of which are currently on display in the Rijksmuseum. Among them also “The Milkmaid” and “The Little Street”.
–
–
Visitors admire Vermeer’s work in the Rijksmuseum. Left “The Milkmaid”, right “Het Straatje”.
–
For the retrospective exhibition, the Rijksmuseum supplements that offer with paintings that it has brought in from various museums. These include “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” from the Mauritshuis in The Hague, “The Geographer” from the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, “The Writing Woman with a Maidservant” from The National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin and “The Woman with scales,” which currently hangs in The National Gallery of Art in Washington DC. In addition to these well-known works, the Rijksmuseum will also borrow paintings that have never been exhibited in the Netherlands before.
–
–
The newly restored “Woman reading a letter at the open window” from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden will be on display in the Netherlands for the first time.
Old Masters Picture Gallery, SKD, Photo: Wolfgang Kreische
–
The fact that the Dutch museum manages to bring all these works under one roof is, to say the least, a remarkable achievement. After all, paintings by Vermeer are only lent by other museums in exceptional cases. Since the Dutchman left behind only a very small oeuvre with 35 paintings, his iconic paintings are among the masterpieces in every museum.
–
–
Taco Dibbits, the director of the Rijksmuseum, finds it hard to believe that international museums were still willing to lend their pieces by Vermeer. According to Dibits, this will become less and less the case in the future. The Dutchman fears that the increasing rivalry between museums will thwart such international collaborations.
–
–
“Working now more than I could have ever dreamed”
At the moment, Dibbits is trying to convince a number of other museums to lend their painting(s) by Vermeer to the Rijksmuseum. “I think it’s impossible to get them all, but we already have more than I could have ever imagined,” said the museum director. The Dutchman believes that all paintings together under one roof can ensure that a new generation becomes acquainted with Vermeer’s painting.
–
–
Dibbits therefore hopes that the exhibition will be at least as successful as the last major Vermeer exhibition in the Netherlands. It took place in the Mauritshuis in 1996 and attracted more than 450,000 visitors. It is therefore still the most visited exhibition in the museum in The Hague.
–
–
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
© WORLD PICTURES – creative.belgaimage.be
–
–
