Small-format paintings from the 17th century just burst all superlatives: The Vermeer exhibition in Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum is a coup and was sold out after just three days. But what makes these 28 pictures a crowd puller? As always, ntv.de takes a close look.
Now or never again! That is the motto of this century exhibition in Amsterdam. It is the largest exhibition of Vermeer’s work ever shown. A blockbuster that art enthusiasts and art tourists want, should, must see. The Dutch painter is a guarantee of success. Even on the opening day, the server couldn’t withstand the rush for tickets. On the third day, the show was sold out with 450,000 tickets sold. Sounds like clever art PR from the Rijksmuseum. Could you have guessed this hype?
“Yes,” says Uta Neidhardt, senior curator for Dutch painting at the Old Masters Picture Gallery in Dresden. She has been working intensively with Johannes Vermeer for almost 20 years and has curated several exhibitions with Vermeer paintings. “There is this pop star level,” she says to ntv.de, “I wouldn’t underestimate it.” At least since Scarlett Johansson played the leading role in the film “Girl with a Pearl Earring” in 2003, people who are not necessarily interested in art have also been interested in Vermeer. “In addition, there are only a few paintings by the painter,” the art historian continues. In Amsterdam, 28 of the probably 35 paintings that still exist can now be seen. More Vermeers have never been in one place.
This sparkling light is pure magic. “Vermeer placed dabs of colored light on certain surfaces that seem almost impressionistic to us today,” explains Uta Neidhardt. On the iconic pearl earring he put a dot impasto – i.e. extra thick. “When the light that actually surrounds us falls on it, it is reflected. Vermeer knew how to translate effects like this into painting. This corresponds to our current visual experiences from photography and film.” Although Vermeer chose motifs similar to those of his contemporaries, he depicted them with great reduction and calm. The way he shows the people in everyday situations makes them a surface for millions of people to identify with. In doing so, he used modern methods of vision. Sometimes he designed objects in different image planes in focus, sometimes out of focus. Concentrating on the essentials also makes his pictures modern and almost photorealistic. According to Neidhardt, the way he captures the effect of light and shadow in his paintings is another element of his genius.
The valuable works have arrived from museums and collections in Dresden, Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris, London, New York and Tokyo. The show at the Rijksmuseum was prepared for eight long years. Transport costs and astronomical sums insured are accepted because the effort is also worthwhile for research. The increase in knowledge is enormous. After all, a museum is always a place of science. Here the borrowed pictures from all over the world can be compared side by side. Johannes Vermeer only signed his works occasionally – art historians have a hard time with an exact dating. Vermeer paintings, including forgeries, have appeared from time to time over the centuries. It helps enormously to be able to examine the material and color pigments used by Vermeer under the microscope and with the latest non-destructive analysis methods.
There were often surprises, most recently in Dresden 2021, when a show with at least ten works by Vermeer was being prepared there. Incidentally, another secret has now been revealed in the Rijksmuseum. The master had painted a shelf with jugs on the wall behind the “maid with milk jug”. Which, however, he let disappear behind white paint. His portrayed figures rest in themselves and invite the audience to pause. This time they enchant visitors on the upper floor of the Rijksmuseum. Some of the works are separated from each other with velvet curtains and well protected with panes of glass from any climate activist attacks. The pictures are not very big, so the number of visitors is strictly regulated.
Vermeer had created the small formats for their effect. You can almost hear the milk gurgling out of the jug. The skill with which he painted carpets, fabrics and curtains lets the audience feel every fiber. Meticulously and obsessed with detail, he captured the interiors of his time on canvas. Anyone who delves into his paintings is enraptured – also by the calm they radiate. Vermeer painted the stillness. Which again is surprising given that he had eleven children.
What does the art world really know about Johannes Vermeer? Born in 1632 in Delft, Holland, during the so-called golden age of Dutch painting. He never left the town itself. He was a painter, art dealer and pub owner. Two paintings were created per year. Money worries constantly plagued him, he was said to be bankrupt when he died at the age of 43. His widow paid the debts he had accumulated over the years with a Vermeer. There are no pictures of himself and only a few documents allow a glimpse into his life. They can currently be seen in the Prinsenhof in Delft. Many questions about his biography and art are still open. After his death, Vermeer was forgotten. In the mid-19th century, the French art critic Théophile Thoré rediscovered him and referred to him as the “Sphinx of Delft”. Also because Vermeer’s life was in the dark.
At the end of the 20th century he joined the art canon as one of the best-known painters of the Baroque period. Doesn’t the current hype about Vermeer smell like money-making? Wherever Johannes Vermeer is shown, queues form in front of the museums. In Dresden, from autumn 2021, at least ten paintings by Vermeer could be seen in the Old Masters Picture Gallery for almost four months. Here, too, the time slots were fully booked. The Amsterdam status “sold out after three days” makes headlines worldwide. Vermeer expert Uta Neidhardt is pleased: “The Rijksmuseum has power, money and status. Especially in these strenuous times, it’s nice that people kneel in front of such an artist.”
The so-called “Mona Lisa of the North” is the Dutchman’s most famous painting. “The girl with the pearl earring” usually hangs in the Mauritshuis in The Hague. It made him a superstar, and the iconic girl is printed on all sorts of objects around the world. Who is this young woman in the turban? The mysticism surrounding their identity has fueled writers and filmmakers alike. It is this mysterious in-between moment of turning towards or away that Vermeer so incomparably frozen. Her mouth is half open as if she wants to say something. Only what? Vermeer has cleverly placed one of his magical highlights on her lips.
Exactly these lips are now hanging as a huge poster at the Rijksmuseum, visible from afar, advertising the exhibition. The iconic image is currently sorely missed in The Hague. The Mauritshuis curates an Instagram channel under “mygirlwithapearl” and publishes interpretations of the masterpiece. As I said – Johannes Vermeer attracts the crowds. The Rijksmuseum is now working on making it possible for even more people to see the rare treasure. In summer they can all be visited again in their usual places. Also in the Dresden Old Masters Picture Gallery – in complete silence.
“Vermeer. The Greatest Exhibition of All Time” runs until June 4th at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam
British actor Stephen Fry talks about the Vermeer paintings at the Rijksmuseum online
Vermeer’s Delft, Museum Prinsenhof Delft, bis before June 4
