Vermeer: We went to the hottest show in town!

As well as restoring and printing fine art, it is my passion to visit these masterpieces in galleries, where you can really appreciate them in their natural habitat.

By some careful planning I booked tickets to see one of my favourite artists’ works in a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition: Vermeer, at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. In early March, my partner and I jumped on the Eurostar from St. Pancras which now runs a direct service straight to Amsterdam from London. This was a great way to make the journey, sitting back, relaxing, chatting and enjoying a surprisingly nice meal with wine included. In just over 4 hours we were arriving in Amsterdam Central Station. For our stay we had decided to book the Conscious Hotel in Amsterdam’s Westerpark.

The Conscious Hotel, Westerpark

This eco-hotel set in the middle of one of the city’s parks was a great place to stay with beautiful rooms with views over the lake. The hotel’s restaurant, Kantoor was a 100% Vegan/Veggie affair with some very delicious dishes, even my partner who is in no-way a veggie enjoyed the food on offer.

After a relaxed first day we got up early on the second day and jumped on the tram down to the Museumplein. If you’ve never been, it’s a dream for art lovers. With a beautiful park full of modern art features it is home to Stedelijk Museum of contemporary art and design, the Moco Museum of modern art, none other than the Van Gogh Museum (which we also visited and was incredible!) and right at the top of the gardens is palatial Rijksmuseum. Formally the town hall of Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum opened its doors in 1808. Containing a huge collection of almost 2000 separate exhibits, this, one of the world’s greatest art galleries takes a very full day to get around, if not two.

But whilst the Rijksmuseum is incredible, there was certainly one very big, important reason we were at there at all. Vermeer.

Girl Reading a Letter by the Window, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1657-1659

A little background, if you’re not familiar with Johannes Vermeer. Johannes Vermeer, a renowned Dutch painter of the 17th century, is celebrated for his masterful use of light, intricate detail, and profound sense of composition. Born in Delft in 1632, Vermeer spent his entire career in the same city, creating a relatively small but extraordinary body of work. His paintings, primarily domestic interiors and genre scenes, possess a captivating realism and an ethereal quality that captivate viewers even today. Vermeer's meticulous attention to detail and his ability to capture the play of light and shadow have made him one of the most revered and influential artists in history. Despite his talent, Vermeer's work was not widely recognized during his lifetime, and he struggled financially. Today, however, his paintings, such as "Girl with a Pearl Earring" and "The Milkmaid," are considered among the greatest treasures of Dutch Golden Age art, admired for their timeless beauty and profound artistic skill.

Standing Virginal Player and Seated Virginal Player, Johannes Vermeer, ca. 1670-1675

Luckily, we had booked our tickets back in January before the exhibition began and they seemed readily available. By the time the exhibition began in late February, from the rave reviews appearing in the likes of the Guardian, the New York Times and other media outlets it quickly became obvious that this was a very special event, a once-in-a-lifetime-miss-it-and-you’ll-regret-it-forever kind of event! The reason was partly down to the fact that this was first time in history that almost all of his remarkably small body of work was being shown together in the same place and the same time. Iconic paintings such as the Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Milkmaid sat alongside lesser known and appreciated works such as the View of Delft and Seated Woman at the Virginal.

Woman Reading a Letter, ca. 1663

With great expectation and excitement we made our way into the gallery where the exhibition was being shown and were greeted by a sea of people, all feeling the same sense of excitement we were. I won’t go into great detail about my experience with all of the paintings, as to be honest it was a bit of a blur! I was so unexpectedly overcome by emotion at seeing these paintings, by a master artist that I have admired for so long, all together in front of me. I got really, really absorbed into the moment and just let myself be swept along by the crowd, moving from masterpiece to masterpiece, just marvelling at the almost magical use of light in these beautiful renditions of life in Delft in the mid 17th Century.

Woman with Pearl Necklace, ca. 1662-1665

Obviously, a big highlight was the moment we entered the room where the Girl with a Pearl Earring was hung. By far the most hotly contested painting to get a central barrier-side spot at, nothing can prepare you for the moment when you first see The Girl with a Pearl Earring with your own eyes. Her beauty is striking, her gaze follows you as you move from side to side, admiring the glow of light on her cheek, her soft skin and the sharp glint of light from the pearl earring she wears, almost floating beside her, also reflected in the highlights of her eyes. The iconic blue and gold headscarf are also radiant with light, yet contain a beautiful depth, thanks to the masterfully painted shadows.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, ca. 1665-1667

At around 30 paintings, (which was almost his entire output) the exhibition is fairly small and is over far too quickly. We wanted to go back in for a second walk through but our allocated time was up and the next group of art lovers began their own journey through Vermeer’s work.

The Gallery of Honour, Rijksmuseum

That day we also toured around the Rijksmuseum, enjoying works by Rembrandt, De Heem, Van Everdingen and many others. Of course, rich with Dutch masters, there was also a good amount of variety with work by Jan Asselijn and more.

Still Life with a Vase of Flowers and a Dead Frog, Jacob Marrel, 1634

During our stay we also visited the Van Gogh museum which was incredible. Home to many of his self-portraits, portraits of people, incredible landscapes and his beautiful flowers. We also spent the best part of a day here.

Self Portrait, Vincent Van Gogh, 1887

After getting home, thoroughly worn out, it took a few days to sink in just how special seeing the Vermeer exhibition was. Appreciating his mastery of light, there really wasn’t anyone else that could paint like him. Not long after, we saw news of tickets going for £2000 and more on auction sites, but we wouldn’t of sold our tickets for the world.

Bella x