The All Vermeers in Europe Travel Guide

All the Vermeers in Europe (22 works)

In Europe, all twenty-two Vermeer paintings are genrally accessible to the public except for the Queen’s The Music Lesson which is visible only during the summer months or special exhibitions. The remaining works are housed in public or private art collections normally open five days a week throughout the year except for holidays. It should be kept in mind that Vermeer paintings can be on special exhibitions far from their permanent collections or in restoration. Temporary exhibitions, however, are usually announced months in advance so it is imperative to begin planning in time to avoid pointless travel.

Traveling Philosophy. There as many ways to travel as there are individuals and their financial possibilities. The present travel guide is formulated around a limited budget in order to afford the maximum number of people the occasion to realistically calculate costs. Obviously, in order to arrive at the European starting point each traveler must make his own travel arrangements from his home wherever that might be.

Plan 1. Seeing al 22 Vermeers in Europe . If one wishes to attempt the rather ambitious plan of seeing all 22 Vermeer paintings in Europe, ten intercity trips will be necessay. One may then plan as many days for exploring the city's Vermeer museum and city sites as one finds suitable. The map above proposes a possilbe travel route.

Plan 2. The second plan involves seeing 14 Vermeers dsitributed in four cities (Amsterdam, The Hague, Paris and London) all within very close viciniy.

Plan 3. The third plans offers the possibilityto keep traveling time at a bare minimum while allowing one to seeing 11, or perhaps 12 paintings.

Intercity Transportation. One of the best ways to assure a more gratifying trip and economize at the same time is to utilize Europe's excellent railway system. The chief railway stations are located in the heart of European cities and hence, often near the major art collections and a wide choice travel accommodations. Moreover, rail travel is generally more congenial to socializing with each country's inhabitants and moreover, has the indubitable advantage of allowing one the opportunity to comfortably view scenery.

InterRail Global Passes http://www.interrail.net/english/index.php
For European residents. The total duration of the ten-city travel and stay would be trip would last 21 days. This number which would keep us in the limits of a 22-day InterRail Global Pass which cost Euro 479.00 and Euro [4239,00 439,00] for senior citizens (over 60s).

Eurail Global Pass http://www.eurail.com/eurail-passes/eurail-global-pass
For non-European residents. There is a large variety of different of passes regarding specific areas in Europe to choose or the number of travelling days within a month etc. For example: a pass with the validity of 15 travelling days within 2 months costs $739.00 (2nd class) while a stay of 21 days costs $ 619,00 (2nd class). A Benelux (i.e. Belgium/Netherlands and Luxembourg)-Germany Pass costs $395.00 with 10 travelling days within 2 months. Attention: A Eurail Pass has to be ordered 6 months before the issuing date.

accommodations. In keeping with the limited budget proposed by this guide, afforable hotels and bed & breakfasts ($150 or less) are preferred. accommodations located near the muesum, rather than the railway station, have been preferred so that one can easily return from the museum to the hotel duing the day to rest up.

All the Vermeers in Europe, City by City. Due to the wealth of information, this project desplays each city on a separate webpage which can be accessed from the menu located to the upper right of this page.

Approximate Rail Travel Times

Vienna-Dresden - 7:13
Dresden-Berlin - 2:56
Berlin-Braunschwieg - 1:25
Brunswick-Frankfurt - 2:46
Franrkfurt-Amsterdam - 3:56
Amsterdam-The Hague - 50
The Hague-Paris - 4:36
Paris-London - 5:06
London-Edinburg - 5:35
Edinburg-Dublin - 10: 20

Museum Closures

Vienna - Monday
Dresden - Monday
Berlin - Monday
Brunswick - Monday
Frankfurt - Monday
Amsterdam -open 7 days a week
The Hague - Monday
Paris - Tuesday
London (National Gallery) - always open
London (Kenwood House) - open 7 days a week
Edinburg - open 7 days a week
Dublin - open 7 days a week

The Vermeers in Europe at a Glance

CITY	TITLE	MUSEUM	EMAIL
*Amsterdam*	The Milkmaid	Rijksmuseum	info@rijksmuseum
	The Little Street	Rijksmuseum	info@rijksmuseum
	The Love Letter	Rijksmuseum	info@rijksmuseum
	Woman in Blue Reading a Letter	Rijksmuseum	info@rijksmuseum
*Berlin*	The Glass of Wine	Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Gemäldegalerie	gg@smb.spk-berlin.de
	Woman with a Pearl Necklace	Staatliche Museen Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Gemäldegalerie	gg@smb.spk-berlin.de
*Brunswick*	The Girl with a Wine Glass	Herzog Anton Ulrich-Museum	info@museum-braunschweig.de
*Dresden*	The Procuress	Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery)	info@skd.smwk.sachsen.de
	Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window	Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister (Old Masters Picture Gallery)	info@skd.smwk.sachsen.de
*Dublin*	Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid	National Gallery of Ireland	info@ngi.ie
*Edinburg*	Christ in the House of Martha and Mary	National Gallery of Scotland	enquiries@nationalgalleries.org
*Franfurt*	The Geographer	Städelsches Kunstinstitut	info@staedelmuseum.de
*The Hague*	Diana and her Companions	Mauritshuis	communicatie@mauritshuis.nl
	View of Delft	Mauritshuis	communicatie@mauritshuis.nl
	Girl with a Pearl Earring	Mauritshuis	communicatie@mauritshuis.nl
*London*	A Lady Standing at a Virginal	National Gallery	information@ng-london.org.uk
	A Lady Seated at a Virginal	National Gallery	information@ng-london.org.uk
	The Guitar Player	The Kenwood House	customers@english-heritage.org.uk
	The Music Lesson	The Royal Collecion, The Windsor Castle	information@ng-london.org.uk
*Paris*	The Atronomer	Musée du Louvre	info@louvre.fr
	The Lacemaker	Musée du Louvre	info@louvre.fr
*Vienna*	The Art of Painting	Kunsthistorisches Museum	info@khm.at

Why visit the real paintings?

To those who are favored with an artistic leaning, one of the most rewarding pleasures in life is the direct experience of a master painting. A real painting's colors are far more varied and nuanced. The darks and lights, which createdrama through form and light, are more commanding. They know to well that reproductions, no matter how technically refined, cannot hope to duplicate the visual or emotional impact of the real, unique hand-crafted object. The painting’s body, made of canvas, pigments and essential oils come together to create a surface texture which lends each work a unique, material richness that can not be duplicated with ink on paper or illuminated pixels. The all important effect of the painting's true dimensions is entirely lost in a book-size reproduction or on the computer's monitor.

Many ardent museum goers find that the galleries where these works are housed become an intimate part of the viewing experience. A picture’s period frame properly isolates the work from its environment and allows one to focus his attention on the finely calibrated aesthetic relationships. Moreover, the gallery’s architectural setting, lighting, furnishings and the picture’s hang all contribute to a unique subjective experience.

For art-lovers that are particularly drawn to the paintings of Vermeer, the possiblity of seeing every surviving work is hardly remote. Fourteen are in America while the remaining twenty-two are in Europe. Click here to see tthe distribution of Vermeer's paintings. Only one painting, The Concert is no longer viewable since it was stolen in 1992

Metropolitan Museum of Art