The End of the Blockbuster Vermeer Exhibition

Kristian Markus from Hamburg, Germany, drove five hours to visit the landmark “Vermeer” exhibition at the Rijksmuseum despite its closing. Markus, who works in marketing, picked up his mother in Münster, with the tickets being her Mother’s Day present, before traveling another two hours to Amsterdam. Markus wanted to experience the unique atmosphere of Vermeer’s interiors which consist of private interiors and stories.

The Dutch national museum staged its most profitable exhibition ever, selling over 650,000 tickets to visitors from 113 countries over 16 weeks. The “Vermeer” show contained the largest collection of Vermeer’s known works, including “Girl With a Pearl Earring” and three other paintings from the New York Frick Collection.

Taco Dibbits, the museum’s director, said that his intention was to provide visitors with the most intimate setting to appreciate Vermeer’s works, thereby bringing them “closer to Vermeer.” The museum only made 450,000 tickets available, which quickly sold out in three days, reshuffled staff, and opened until 11 p.m. from its daily 5 p.m. closing hours to accommodate more visitors.

Due to the high demand, the museum released more tickets in March, following which its website crashed. As a response, it advertised a lottery of 2,300 additional tickets on social media websites during the final weekend to accommodate more art lovers.

The exhibition closed on Sunday, and Dibbits said it was an emotional farewell, especially since there are hardly any Vermeers, and the paintings are popular in most museums; therefore, they may not travel again soon.

Julia Kowalska, a Polish mathematician studying in the Netherlands, visited the exhibition nine times and found the final visit the most relaxed. She stated that each painting was associated with a different person, and now it feels like the closure of a chapter in her life.