Here Are Vermeer Paintings to Be Presented in a Landmark Exhibition at The Rijksmuseum
Numerous art history overviews championed the Golden Age of Dutch painting. During the late 16th and mid-17th century, an astonishing production emerged thanks to economic, social, and political affluence. The most prolific master active at the time, whose fascinating domains are still very much explored widely, was Johannes Vermeer.
As far as scholars have concluded, throughout his lifetime, the artist has made only 35 paintings. Nevertheless, this oeuvre stands at the forefront of the Western canon in terms of exceptional painterly technique and conceptual and formal innovation.
To honor the grand master of Dutch painting, the Rijksmuseum, in collaboration with the Mauritshuis, will present the largest Vermeer retrospective by highlighting both their holdings and loans from all over the world.
A team of curators, restorers, and scientists from both institutions undertook great efforts to conduct thorough analyses of Vermeer's oeuvre, his majestic creative endeavor, and the creative process. The exhibition will also bring a few works that were never before seen in the Netherlands, including a recently restored Girl Reading a Letter at the Open Window from the Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister in Dresden.
Here, we have selected eight Vermeer paintings that you can experience in person in this biggest Vermeer show ever, which will be on view from February 20th to June 4th, 2023.
Featured image: Johannes Vermeer – The Love Letter, detail, 1669 – 70. Oil on canvas, height: 44 cm (17.3 in); width: 38.5 cm (15.1 in). Rijksmuseum. Image via Creative Commons.
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, 1657-58
A famous masterpiece, Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window was executed by the Dutch master between 1657 and 59. For many years, the composition depicting a young Dutch woman reading a letter before an open window was misattributed before the final conclusion in 1880. After WW II, the painting was in possession of the Soviet Union. However, it was quickly returned back to the Netherlands. In 2021, a thorough restoration was conducted, revealing a painting of Cupid on the wall just above the girl.
The painting Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window is held at the museum Staatliche Kunstsammlungen in Dresden.
Featured image: Johannes Vermeer - Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, 1657-58. Oil on canvas, height: 83 cm (32.6 in) ; width: 64.5 cm (25.3 in). Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden. Image via Creative Commons.
Officer and Laughing Girl, 1657-58
Another highlight of the exhibition is the painting titled Officer and Laughing Girl, produced between 1655 and 1660. This particular work portrays, as the title suggests, a laughing girl in a yellow dress depicted frontally in a dialog with an officer shown from the back. The work showcases several characteristics of Vermeer's style. Scholars believe that Vermeer used camera obscura to develop the perspective in this painting while being inspired by Geradr van Honthorst's painting.
Officer and Laughing Girl is one of three Vermeer paintings held at The Frick Collection in New York.
Featured image: Johannes Vermeer - Officer and Laughing Girl, circa 1657. Oil on canvas, height: 50.5 cm (19.8 in); width: 46 cm (18.1 in). Image via Creative Commons.
The Milkmaid, 1658-59
The Milkmaid or The Kitchen Maid is an oil on canvas featuring a portrait of a domestic kitchen maid. At the time, these women working in households were perceived as being predisposed to love or sex. This kind of imagery was frequent in paintings of domestic scenes from Antwerp, Utrecht, and Delft during the Dutch Golden Age.
The Milkmaid belongs to the Rijksmuseum collection in Amsterdam.
Featured image: Johannes Vermeer - The Milkmaid, circa 1660. Oil on canvas, height: 45.5 cm (17.9 in); width: 41 cm (16.1 in). Rijksmuseum collection. Image via Creative Commons.
Girl Interrupted at Her Music, c. 1659–61
Girl Interrupted at Her Music was painted in the baroque style between the years 1658 and 1659. Vermeer depicted a woman at her music alongside a gentleman beside her. This is a courtship scene typical for 17th-century Europe, which underlines the significance of music when it comes to love.
Girl Interrupted at Her Music has been part of the Frick Collection in New York City since 1901.
Featured image: Johannes Vermeer - Girl Interrupted at her Music, 1659 - 1661. Oil on canvas, height: 39.4 cm (15.5 in); width: 44.5 cm (17.5 in). The Frick Collection. Image via Creative Commons.
View of Delft, 1660-61
View of Delft is an oil painting made between 1659 and 1661. This painting is one of the Dutch artist's best-known works, produced at a time when cityscapes were rare. View of Delft belongs to the group of three paintings of Delft alongside The Little Street and the lost painting House Standing in Delft.
Ever since the establishment of the Mauritshuis in The Hague in 1822, View of Delft has been hanging in the Dutch Royal Cabinet of Paintings.
Featured image: Johannes Vermeer – View of Delft, c. 1660-1661. Oil on canvas, 96.5 cm × 115.7 cm (38.0 in × 45.6 in). Mauritshius Hague. Image via Creative Commons.
Woman Holding a Balance, ca. 1662–64
The painting Woman Holding a Balance, completed between 1662–1663, depicts a woman holding an empty balance in her hand, set against a large painting of the Last Judgment hanging on the back wall of the room. Although the interpretations of the composition differ, it most likely symbolizes holiness or earthliness, indicating the artist's religious and spiritual considerations.
Woman Holding a Balance is held at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.
Featured image: Johannes Vermeer – Woman Holding a Balance, c. 1662–1663. Oil on canvas, 42.5 cm × 38 cm (16.7 in × 15 in). The National Gallery of Art Washington D. C. Image via Creative Commons.
Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1664–67
Girl with a Pearl Earring is definitely Vermeer's best-known work. It is a tronie, the Dutch 17th-century description of a 'head' that was not supposed to be a portrait. The portrait of a young girl wearing an exotic dress, an oriental turban, and a colossal pearl earring tells much about the economy and trade of that time while also showcasing a fascination with foreign culture.
Girl with a Pearl Earring has been part of the Mauritshuis collection since 1902.
Featured image: Johannes Vermeer - Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1664 – 1667. Oil on canvas, height: 44.5 cm (17.5 in) ; width: 39 cm (15.3 in). Mauritshuis. Image via Creative Commons.
The Love Letter, 1669-70
Love Letter features a servant maid discussing her mistress' love letter, shown in her hand. This Vermeer work is saturated with different symbols - a cittern, a musical instrument that symbolizes sensual love, confirming that the mistress holds a love letter; the removed slipper at the bottom of the painting is another symbol of sex; and the floor brush, which represents domesticity.
The Love Letter is on view at the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.
Featured image: Johannes Vermeer – The Love Letter, 1669 – 70. Oil on canvas, height: 44 cm (17.3 in); width: 38.5 cm (15.1 in). Rijksmuseum. Image via Creative Commons.
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