by Sandra Hutchinson

When Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum announced an exhibit of 28 of Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer’s paintings to open in February of this year, the tickets quickly sold out. International newspapers proclaimed this the “exhibit of a lifetime.” Indeed, the headline of the preview in The Guardian was “One of the most thrilling exhibits ever conceived.”

Vermeer lived from 1632 to 1675 in Delft. There are only 35 known Vermeer works in existence. The paintings in the exhibit have come from museums in New York (the Frick), Washington, D.C. (National Gallery of Art), Berlin and elsewhere. It’s the largest collection of Vermeer paintings ever displayed together. One of the artist’s most famous paintings, Girl with a Pearl Earring, was on display in the exhibit until March 30, when it was returned to its home museum, the Mauritshuis, in The Hague.

I had the extraordinary privilege to attend the exhibit on May 21, 2023. After the initial release of tickets sold out, the Rijksmuseum announced that it would release a second batch of tickets in early March. Once that happened, I tried repeatedly to buy tickets online for three days until finally, miraculously, I was able to purchase two tickets for 30 Euros each.

I’m not an art historian, so I will let readers do their own investigations on the impact and significance of Vermeer. But even to a relatively untrained eye, it is quickly apparent that Vermeer was a master of light and color. Many of his paintings, often of individuals in interior settings, depict light entering from a window, landing on 17th century faces, objects and fabrics.

The first paintings encountered in the exhibit are not interior scenes, but of Delft exteriors — The Little Street and View of Delft.

Continuing into the next room, the paintings move into interiors — a geographer studying a map, women standing by a window, pouring milk out of a jug, making lace, playing a keyboard instrument. The shimmer of light on silk, woven carpets, and faces is extraordinary and breathtaking. When I first saw The Milkmaid, tears literally filled my eyes. How lucky was I?

I hope you enjoy these photos, all of which I took with my iPhone.

The exhibit closed on June 4. The Rijksmuseum says that over 650,000 people viewed the exhibit. The museum’s web site has some wonderful resources to explore about Vermeer and his works. Click here. The videos are particularly well done, in my opinion. Enjoy!