Vermeer exhibit comes to an end as Rijksmuseum’s best attended show; 650,000 visitors

The Vermeer exhibit in the Rijksmuseum closed at 11:00 p.m. on Sunday after 16 weeks. In its 115 days, Vermeer attracted 650,000 visitors to the Rijksmuseum, making it the museum’s best-attended exhibition to date.

“The quiet and intimacy in Vermeer’s work is enchanting. Thanks to the lenders and all who supported us, we have succeeded in letting as many visitors as possible enjoy this to the utmost,” Rijksmuseum director Taco Dibbits said.

The exhibit brought 28 of Vermeer’s 37 paintings together, including loans from museums and collections from seven countries. Seven of the artworks were displayed in the Netherlands for the first time. Attendees gave the exhibit an average score of 8.7 out of ten. And 800,000 people visited the Closer to Vermeer website, which gave a guided tour of the show narrated by Stephen Fry in English and Joy Delima in Dutch.

Six of the Vermeer paintings be displayed in the Rijksmuseum from June 7 to October 10. The Girl in the Red Hat from the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Young Woman at the Virginal from The Leiden Collection in New York will hang next to the four Vermeer works from the Rijksmuseum’s collection.