Vermeer @ The Rijksmuseum
“Vermeer review - one of the most thrilling exhibitions ever conceived.” - The Guardian
“Vermeer: The once-in-a-lifetime display of the most beautiful paintings in the world.” Irish Times
“The Big Review: Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum *****.” - The Art Newspaper
“Picture-Perfect. The blockbuster Vermeer show at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum exceeds the hype.” - Air Mail
“I have a ticket to Vermeer in Amsterdam. Money can’t get you one.” - The Times
These are just a sample of the many headlines storming the internet about The Rijksmuseum’s blockbuster Vermeer exhibition in Amsterdam. And this reviewer could not agree with them more.
Vermeer poster yellow. Mistress and Maid, Johannes Vermeer. Courtesy: The Rijksmuseum.
It is a show comprising many contradictions. Serene and frenzied; thoughtful and inconsiderate; quiet and loud; magnetic and disenchanting; aesthetically immersive and distracted. The former of the pair of words all describe Vermeer’s captivating canvases, whilst the latter refers to the atmosphere.
Perhaps viewing the exhibition at 11.30 am on a Friday, the same weekend as The European Fine Art Fair (TEFAF), was not conducive to the typical tête-à-tête I am used to when on the museum circuit in London. But to call the visiting crowd chaotic would be an understatement. Swathes of people from all over the globe all crowded around one small Vermeer canvas mounted beautifully against a sober coloured wall - chatting feverishly, critiquing earnestly, taking incessant iPhone photographs and pushing past one another to get a glimpse of the Dutch master’s delicate brushwork with their own eyes only to turn away twenty seconds later. But that is the nature of viewing art today…
Installation shot of curation and crowd. Photograph: Ilaria Bevan.
Therefore getting in the zone to properly examine both the twenty-eight works on display and consider their careful curation took a moment. However, once you can get past all the hustle and bustle, it is overwhelmingly clear that the exhibition is magical. Not only is this a rare occasion, likely to never be repeated (at least in my lifetime) to view so many of Vermeer’s paintings together in one space, but it is also a rare example of an exhibition that is truly transformative. More specifically, it is the very definition of art as a personally-altering aesthetic experience. John Dewey would be quaking.
As many solo exhibitions are, the Rijksmuseum’s show hinges on key themes related to the artist’s core interests and subjects, as noted by the introductory wall text. In addition to the brief biographical notes that provide audiences with a rough overview of the artist’s life and career, the text takes great care to emphasise the unique lens through which the artist saw the world and translated it through his brush. Immediately, those potentially distracted minds are shifted to become alert, aware and considerate. It is also interesting to note that not here, not anywhere in the exhibition, is it indicated that Vermeer was largely overlooked, even in Amsterdam and his hometown of Delft, until his ‘rediscovery’ c.1860 by the German museum director Gustav Waagen.
Turning attention back to the show itself, the first room immediately transports spectators into Vermeer’s world. Only two works occupy the first room: View of Delft (c.1660-1) and The Little Street (c.1658).
Johannes Vermeer, View of Delft, c. 1660-1661. Mauritshuis, Den Haag.
Painted early in the career, these canvases portray the artist’s home in a manner quite unlike anything being produced at the time; cityscapes were rare, and painting them on such a small scale is also completely unique. What makes these paintings so exciting is Vermeer’s portrayal of the quiet Dutch existence and the highly realistic manner in which he captures the diverse range of surfaces and textures found within Delft’s urban topography. Such a delicate rendering of light interacting with the buildings, the bricks, the river, the foliage and the city’s inhabitants provides a glimpse of the artist he would become.
With light on the mind, one cannot help but wonder whether the deep purples, plum greys and muted lilacs colouring the walls and heavy velvet curtains were the correct choice for the exhibition’s colour scheme. Often museums get it so wrong. But the Rijksmuseum’s curatorial decision was perfectly judged. From the outset - looking at how the paintings in the first room appeared against the sedated palette - it is clear that the surrounding colours were intended to suck all the light from within the room and transpose it onto Vermeer’s paintings, as if by osmosis. In doing so, the canvases pop - which was certainly needed so that even audiences standing farther away from the works could see their luminescent qualities.
The second room provides as many surprises as the first. Focussed on allegorical and religious scenes, the space reveals other underknown facets of Vermeer's artistic oeuvre. The Procuress (c.1656) is a standout amongst the other pictures. Unlike the other works present, such as Diana and Her Companions (c.1653-4) and Saint Praxedis (c.1655), The Procuress demonstrates an essence of playfulness and curiosity that develops in later pictures. And as the first of his genre paintings, this quality is even more important.
Johannes Vermeer, The Procuress, ca. 1656. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden.
Depicting a scene of mercenary love, set in what is thought to be a brothel, the four figures are awry with their drunken revelry. Yet, as with the cityscapes, it is clear Vermeer has paid as much attention to the mood as to the found objects within the space. A three-dimensions jug, the cittern, the vivid costumes, the oriental rug draped casually across the Procuress’ lap and the drinking glass she holds reveal the young artist’s early interest in textural and material experimentation.
One cannot help but draw comparisons between these realistic renderings and those found in the iconic interior pictures, such as A Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (c. 1657-9) or The Milkmaid (c.1660) featured in room three. Centred around the theme of domestic interiors, this is the playground through which the artist can fully experiment with space, perspective, texture, scale, and light effects.
During this period in Northern Europe, genre scenes depicting mundane everyday domestic life were wildly popular with collectors and artists. This was especially true in the Netherlands, where many artists made a name for themselves in this field and ultimately elevated the humble genre to the ranks of History painting, which had been deemed the highest art subject by the French Academy in Paris. Of these, the top genre painters in the Netherlands that come to mind are Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Frans Hals and Jan Steen, to name but a few. Yet, Vermeer’s interior scenes seem to occupy an elevated emotional, visual and intellectual position.
For me, A Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window is a prime example. Light is at its most delicate; her expression is contemplative; swathes of olive, crimson and patterned fabric framing the scene heighten the sense of stillness within the canvas. Moreover, to see how these elements have been magnified and brightened since the picture’s three-year restoration (which also revealed a painting of Cupid behind the girl) from 2018-2021 only further emphasised Vermeer’s supreme painting abilities within this genre.
Prior to the 2018-21 restoration, Johannes Vermeer, Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, ca. 1657-1659. Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden.
Of course, the show's standout and the real crowd-bringer is the painter’s universally beloved Girl With a Pearl Earring (c.1665). No doubt the recent discovery that the painting will be returning to its original home at Mauritshuis, The Hague, at the end of this month was a contributing factor to the Rijksmuseum’s website crashing due to the overwhelming levels of hopeful visitors eager to get their hands on a ticket to see the show.
Installation shot. Johannes Vermeer, Girl With A Pearl Earring, c.1665. Photo: Ilaria Bevan.
Some might be sympathetic to Mauritshuis’ reluctance to loan their star for five months (and probably more if one considers the installation and de-installation processes). Others, like this reviewer, are disappointed at this unusual decision as one would think that Mauritshuis’ superb collection of masterpieces, such as The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicholaes Tulp (1632) by Rembrandt, would be enough to sustain its regular visitor numbers. Instead, in a desperate attempt to capitalise on the current Vermeer craze and boost visitor traffic, the museum staged the less-than-brilliant “My Girl with a Pearl” installation. This installation includes grotesque reimaginings of the original picture, such as an uncanny AI reproduction and an ear of corn dressed in costume, complete with a dangly pearl earring - yes, you heard that right. In light of this, perhaps it is best that Vermeer’s painting be returned…
Two further rooms demand our attention: “A Charming Visitor” and “In Harmony”. Focussed on works concerned with the subject of gentleman callers and musical instruments, respectively, these rooms shed light on the social and cultural activities of the period. But, more importantly, they reveal Vermeer’s keen ability to capture the emotions of and relationships between his subjects when engaging in these routines.
Johannes Vermeer, The Glass of Wine, ca. 1658-1660. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin.
The Glass of Wine (c.1658-60) is one such example. Despite its clear visual and thematic links to Pieter de Hooch’s c.1657 painting, A Dutch Courtyard, Vermeer’s work is much more refined and ambiguous. Its setting in a luxurious interior decorated with a table adorned with the artist’s usual patterned cloth, a stained glass window, and a tiled floor, rather than outside, immediately sets it apart. Additionally, unlike the usual merriment and laughter featured in drinking scenes, including Vermeer’s The Procuress, painted two years earlier, the relationship between the figures is entirely ambiguous.
Clearly there is some form of courtship occurring, but there is no romance or even a sense of slight flirtation. Instead, the woman has drained her glass of wine, and her companion is eager to pour her another, perhaps intending to get her drunk. Sadly an all too common occurrence. However, her apathetic sensibility and unengaged body language suggest that she is uninterested in this game of love and would prefer to return to playing her musical instrument set aside on the chair before her. Although this work is not considered one of Vermeer’s most significant paintings, for a younger, contemporary viewer such as myself, it is visually appealing and completely relatable. Bravo to this brave maiden.
Johannes Vermeer, The Love Letter, ca. 1669 - ca. 1670. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam.
The Love Letter (c.1669-70) is similarly effective in portraying interactions behind closed doors. This time, a young girl is again disrupted from music-making by her maidservant, who has brought her a love letter. Also set in a luxurious domestic interior - here decorated with gilding on the fireplace and many of the objects populating the space, paintings and a marbled checkered floor - the painting perfectly summarises the feeling of nervousness in the initial stages of romance. Its unusual vantage point through a doorway separated by another room entirely (a common device doorkijkje) is particularly successful in emphasising this tension. However, whilst this is an occasion for Vermeer to boast his skills in recreating complex architectural spaces in paint, it is more than that. It is a chance to expand on the picture’s narrative and simultaneously casts spectators in the role of an intruder looking voyeuristically at a private emotional moment.
Although I sometimes felt like the girl in The Love Letter - observed, disrupted and nervous - during my visit to the Rijksmuseum’s exhibition, ultimately, it was everything I hoped for and more. The opportunity to view so many of Vermeer’s masterpieces united together at one time is an experience I will never take for granted. One of the best-known facts about Vermeer is that very little is actually known about him. Whilst the Rijksmuseum perfectly preserves the mysteriousness of the artist through the exhibition’s considerate curation, it also allows viewers to connect with the artist on a personal rather than factual, commercial or academic level. In my view, this is how one always ought to view the Dutch master.
Vermeer at The Rijksmuseum Amsterdam is on view until June 4, 2023. Although tickets are currently sold out, you can tour the exhibition and works online here.
Ilaria Bevan
Editor in Chief, MADE IN BED