February 10, 2023
The Vermeer of a Lifetime: Amsterdam's Record-Breaking Blockbuster
The Rijksmuseum gathered 28 of the world's roughly 37 surviving Vermeers — the largest ever — and made history: 650,000 visitors, sold out in days.
It was billed as the exhibition of a lifetime, and for once the hype was justified. In spring 2023 Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum brought together 28 of the 37 or so paintings the world believes Johannes Vermeer ever made — by far the largest gathering of his work in history.
'Girl with a Pearl Earring', 'The Milkmaid' and a procession of quiet, light-filled interiors hung together for the first and probably last time. Tickets sold out within days; over its 16-week run the show drew 650,000 visitors from more than 110 countries, the most successful exhibition the museum has ever staged.
Vermeer left so few works that seeing this many in one place felt almost unreal — a once-in-several-generations chance to stand inside the hush of his world.
Image: “1665 Girl with a Pearl Earring” — Johannes Vermeer, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.