Where to Find Vermeer

Girl With the Pearl Earring Mauristhuis, The Hague — Girl With the Pearl Earring
Mauristhuis, The Hague

There are only 36 generally accepted Vermeer’s in the world and they are divided between Europe (22) and America (14). I have personally seen 30! Vermeer was born in 1632 and lived most of his life in Delft, which is in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. This historic, rural village is one of the most beautifully preserved, bucolic places I have ever visited. It originated in 1246 from House of Orange (William the Orange is buried in the Nieuwe Kerke) but a large part of the city was destroyed by an explosion in 1654. Vermeer’s painting, The Delft, has preserved the memory of his former hometown.

I did find it very odd, however, that there is not one original Vermeer painting in the Delft. You can visit the Vermeer museum and see prints of his 36 known paintings, but you have to travel on to Amsterdam or the Hague to see an original. Two of Vermeer’s most famous paintings, The Girl with the Pearl Earring and View of the Delft can be seen in the permanent collection of the Mauritshuis Museum in the Hague. This is also a town worth seeing and is only 20 minutes away by train.

I recently visited an incredible exhibition hosted by the Musee du Louvre (March 2017) called Vermeer et Les Maitres de la Peinture de Genre which included five Vermeer’s that I had not seen before. The Vermeer exhibition included, for the first time, a pairing of The Geographer (Stadel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany) with its original partner The Astronomer (Musee du Louvre, Paris). Vermeer is showing the modernity of the scientific revolution, le siècle de la révolution scientifique, of XVII siècle hollandais.

The Louvre Exhibition of Vermeer has been the most visited exhibition in the museum’s history and prompted the director to limit the visitors per hour. In addition to Vermeer’s treasures are more than 70 works by his 17^th century Dutch contemporaries including Jan Steen and Pieter de Hooch; however, one can spot the significant difference in craftsmanship of Vermeer when you first approach the room.

I have included in this post an exhaustive list of the known Vermeer’s in the world. The * denotes the paintings I have been privileged to view (30 out of 36 !). The ** denotes the recent Louvre Exhibition.

View of the Delft Mauritshuis, The Hague — View of the Delft
Mauritshuis, The Hague

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
*1657 Street in the Delft
**1658 The Milkmaid (also Louvre Exhibition)
*1662 Woman in Blue reading a Letter
*1669 The Love Letter

Mauritshuis, The Hague
*1660 View of the Delft
*1655 Diana and Her Companions
*1665 Girl with the Pearl Earring

The Lacemaker The Louvre — The Lacemaker
The Louvre

Louvre Museum, Paris
**1669 The Lacemaker
(also Louvre Exhibition)
**1668 The Astronomer
(also Louvre Exhibition)

Kunstsammlungen, Dresden
1656 The Procuress
1657 Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window

The Royal Collection, St. James’ Palace, London
1662 The Music Lesson

The National Gallery, London
1673 Lady Standing at Virginal
*1673 Lady Seated at Virginal (Louvre Exhibition)

The National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh
*1654 Christ in the House of Martha and Mary (Kimbell exhibition, 2016)

The Leiden Collection, New York (Private)
*1674 Young Woman Sitting at a Virginal (Louvre Exhibition)

Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY
*1657 A Maid Asleep at Table
**1663 Woman Playing a Lute near a Window (also Louvre Exhibition)
*1665 Study of a Young Woman
*1662 Woman with a Water Jug
*1666 Head of a Girl
**1671 Allegory of Faith (also Louvre Exhibition)

National Gallery, Washington D.C.
**1665 Lady Writing a Letter (also Louvre Exhibition)
**1662 Woman Weighing Gold (also Louvre Exhibition)
*1666 Girl with a Flute
*1666 Girl with a Red Hat

Frick Collection, NY
*1658 Soldier and Laughing Girl
*1660 Girl Interrupted at Her Music
*1667 Lady and Her Maidservant

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
*1665 The Concert (stolen March 1990 : the empty frame still hangs on the wall)