Johannes Vermeer

The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is staging the most comprehensive Johannes Vermeer exhibition ever mounted (10 February-4 June). Here, we bring together our top coverage of the Dutch Old Master and the latest news from the once-in-a-lifetime show.

Latest

How to see every painting by Johannes Vermeer

Missed the blockbuster show at the Rijksmuseum? Fear not, we present an insider’s guide to seeing all his 36 paintings across the globe, from London and New York, to Braunschweig and Tokyo

The Big Review: Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum ★★★★★

A less-is-more approach to the biggest ever exhibition of the Dutch Old Master’s paintings makes this blockbuster a triumph

Vermeer reality TV show brings back to life painter's missing masterpieces

A hit in The Netherlands, "The New Vermeer" challenges artists to recreate works from a wide variety of materials—including Lego

The Girl with a Glass Bauble Earring? Why Vermeer's painting probably did not depict a real pearl

Plus, did you know the work used to be called “Girl with the Turban” and once sold for less than £1?

Revealed: Vermeer's patron was, in fact, a woman—and she bought half the artist’s entire oeuvre

New research in the Rijksmuseum's catalogue for its Vermeer blockbuster suggests that Maria de Knuijt may have influenced his subject matter

About the exhibition

Vermeer roll call: final loans for Rijksmuseum blockbuster include masterworks from the Louvre and Met

The full list of paintings to be shown in the ambitious retrospective next year was announced at a press briefing in New York

Biggest ever Vermeer show gets bigger: Rijksmuseum announces further loans for blockbuster exhibition

At least 28 paintings, out of around 35 known works by the artist, will go to Amsterdam next year

Biggest ever Vermeer show to take place at the Rijksmuseum in 2023—and it will include the Girl with the Pearl Earring

The Amsterdam museum will rival the Mauritshuis's 1996 exhibition by bringing together more than 23 of the Dutch master's rare paintings

Fakes and attribution

Rijksmuseum upgrades three Vermeers ahead of blockbuster show—but not everyone agrees

New additions to Old Master's canon go against a recent analysis conducted by Washington D.C's National Gallery of Art

Tests reveal secrets of four Vermeer paintings—including their authenticity—in Washington, DC show

The National Gallery of Art has carried out scientific tests on the works, finding fascinating discoveries beneath the paint

Research and conservation

An expert’s guide to Johannes Vermeer: five must-read books (and a website) on the Dutch Old Master

All you ever wanted to know about Vermeer, from a “legendary” show catalogue to an illustrated book for kids—selected by the curators Pieter Roelofs and Gregor J. M. Weber

First full image of ‘new’ Vermeer with uncovered Cupid released by Dresden museum

Drastically altered composition of Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window can now be seen in all its glory ahead of major exhibition

Investigation of Vermeer painting reveals 'startling discoveries' about his technique

Analysis of The Milkmaid ahead of a major exhibition at the Rijksmuseum suggests he worked much faster than previously assumed

Was Vermeer a painter of pleasure or a staunch Jesuit supporter? New book challenges our knowledge of the artist

Gregor Weber's biography "Johannes Vermeer: Faith, Light and Reflection" also supports the controversial view that Vermeer used a camera obscura

Did this mysterious Dutch painter inspire Vermeer?

The story of enigmatic artist Jacobus Vrel will be told in an exhibition scheduled for 2023 and in a book published this month

First Cupid, now a wine glass? More revelations emerge from restored Vermeer painting in Dresden

Major restoration on Girl reading a Letter at an Open Window shows a large studded goblet later covered by a green curtain

The ‘pearly triangle’: neurological investigation reveals secret of Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring

The study also found that when volunteers looked at five works of art in the Hague’s Mauritshuis museum, their brains responded ten times more positively than when they viewed reproductions

Vermeer vs Pokémon: the double-edged sword of the blockbuster exhibition

Shows at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum were huge hits last year but managing visitors—and staff—proved challenging

Artistsfeature

‘As if he has just left the room’: a farewell tour of the studio of Raymond Briggs, creator of The Snowman

The Sussex house-cum-studio where the graphic novelist worked for six decades proves to be as colourful, characterful, and packed with verve as his classic visual narratives

The Year in Review 2023: the biggest stories and the best shows

From the British Museum thefts to the consequences in art and heritage of the Israel-Hamas war

Hosted by Ben Luke. With guest speakers Louisa Buck and Benjamin Sutton. Produced by David Clack, Julia Michalska and Alexander Morrison
Sponsored byChristie's

The nine top exhibitions of 2023—and one absolute turkey

In 2023 the bar for shows was so high it was hard to choose the best. But which one was a stinker?

A brush with... Sutapa Biswas

An in-depth interview with the artist on her cultural experiences and greatest influences, from the the textural, labour-intensive work of Howardena Pindell to Jean Cocteau's film Orphée

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by David Clack
Sponsored byBloomberg Connects
Filmsnews

Vermeer film proves that people really do want to watch art in cinemas

The company Exhibition on Screen is producing films about artists—and it may have just had a breakthrough with the Dutch artist

Vermeer blockbuster officially breaks record at Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum

The recently-closed exhibition drew 650,000 visitors in its four month run

Diaryblog

Visitors gripe over missing Girl with a Pearl Earring

Masterpiece was returned to the Mauritshuis in March

'Girl with a Pearl Earring' reexamined in 100 billion pixels: discoveries from the Vermeer symposium in Amsterdam

Experts from around the world have revealed fascinating new information about the Dutch Old Master and his works

The Met's Vermeer may contain a hidden self-portrait of the artist at work

X-ray technology has revealed that a hidden man in the background of 'A Maid Asleep' is holding a paintbrush

Vermeer fever: documentary on blockbuster Rijksmuseum show reaches record number of UK screenings

The film, 'Vermeer: The Greatest Exhibition', will be shown in over 300 cinemas across the country

Diaryblog

President Macron gets a private tour of the Rijksmuseum's blockbuster Vermeer show

The French head of state and First Lady pondered over masterpieces such as The Milkmaid and The Lacemaker

Does the Philadelphia Museum of Art hold an unknown Vermeer?

Expert says he discovered two paint pigments that were only used in that combination by the Dutch Old Master at the time

Online storm erupts over AI work in Dutch museum’s ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ display

Mauritshuis currently has 170 works on display as part of its “My Girl with a Pearl” initiative while Vermeer’s masterpiece is on loan

The hunt for as many as nine elusive Vermeer paintings continues

As the Rijksmuseum's once-in-a-lifetime blockbuster brings together an unprecedented number of works by the Old Master, paintings including a self-portrait are still missing

Vermeer special: the man, the show and an attribution debate

As the "unmissable" show opens at the Rijksmuseum we talk to the curators, the museum's director and artist Alvaro Barrington

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by David Clack and Aimee Dawson
Sponsored byChristie's

Walk in Vermeer's footsteps: exhibition in artist's home city reveals 'the man behind the paintings'

Prinsenhof Museum show in Delft opens along with landmark Rijksmuseum exhibition on Dutch 17th-century painter

Diarynews

Do you want to be the girl with the pearl earring in Vermeer’s masterpiece?

Fans encouraged to send versions of the famous 17th-century painting for 'My Girl with a Pearl' initiative at The Mauritshuis

Eco activist attempts to glue his head to Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring

Dutch police have arrested three people at the Mauritshuis in The Hague

Vermeer at the National Gallery in Washington, DC declared not the real thing

The downgrading follows a study of the six paintings in the museum's collection thought to be by the Dutch master, which are now the subject of an exhibition detailing the findings

Blockbuster Vermeer exhibition forced to close as Germany faces fourth coronavirus wave

German health minister warns that by the end of the winter, everyone will be “vaccinated, recovered or dead”

Did this mysterious Dutch painter inspire Vermeer?

The story of enigmatic artist Jacobus Vrel will be told in an exhibition scheduled for 2023 and in a book published this month

Podcastspodcast

The state of painting now

Plus, its enduring market appeal and new secrets revealed in a restored Vermeer

Sponsored byChristie's

First Cupid, now a wine glass? More revelations emerge from restored Vermeer painting in Dresden

Major restoration on Girl reading a Letter at an Open Window shows a large studded goblet later covered by a green curtain

Recently restored Cupid joins nine Vermeer masterpieces for blockbuster show

Dresden exhibition will include Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window along with key international loans and works by other Dutch Golden Age artists