Ongoing and Upcoming Vermeer-Related Events

• Click here to see Vermeer-related events of the past.
• Click here to view a sortable table of all past, ongoing, and future Vermeer exhibitions.

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Girl with a Flute on view again at the NGA

After a prolonged absence, Vermeer’s Girl with a Flute is once again on display at the National Gallery of Art, West Building, Main Floor, Gallery 50-A according to the gallery website.

Following two years of research into the four paintings attributed to Vermeer in 2022, the Gallery had downgraded the work's status to "Studio of Johannes Vermeer" and removed it from public display.^{Marjorie E. Wieseman, Alexandra Libby, E. Melanie Gifford, Dina Anchin, "Vermeer’s Studio and the Girl with a Flute: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 14:2 (Summer 2022) DOI: 10.5092/jhna.2022.14.2.3}

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EV addition: An extensive glossary of art term: Essential Vermeer Pulldown Glossary of Art Terms

Essential Vermeer Pulldown Glossary
https://www.essentialvermeer.com/glossary/glossary-pulldown.html

Art is full of specialized language that can be puzzling to the lay reader. Many terms used by artists, historians, and critics have meanings that differ from their everyday usage, while others are so specific to the field that they are virtually unknown outside of it. This online glossary is dedicated to clarifying these distinctions, offering clear definitions and historical context. Each entry begins by examining the term within the broader history of art, tracing its development, significance, and various interpretations across time and cultures. When relevant, the discussion then shifts to its specific role within the Dutch Golden Age, a period that saw an unprecedented flourishing of artistic innovation, market-driven production, and technical refinement. The glossary highlights how these concepts were understood and applied by Dutch painters, collectors, and theorists, situating them within the broader intellectual and social currents of the time.

Given the focus of this website, the glossary also includes a dedicated section within applicable entries that explores how each term relates to Vermeer's paintings, working methods, or artistic vision. Marked with Vermeer's well-known monogram, this section signals a focused discussion of his unique approach—whether analyzing his materials and techniques or considering his place within Dutch artistic traditions. By structuring the glossary in this way, it serves as both a reference tool and a deeper exploration of artistic practice, bridging general art history with the nuanced particularities of seventeenth-century Dutch painting and Vermeer’s enduring legacy.

With more than 700+ carefully curated terms and a network of over 30,000+ internal links and 500+ images, the glossary allows users to navigate seamlessly across multiple facets of art, revealing unexpected connections and deeper layers of meaning. Designed as both a structured reference and an open-ended exploration, it encourages readers to move beyond isolated definitions, tracing the evolution of artistic ideas across time and disciplines. Whether approached as a scholarly resource or as a guide for enthusiasts eager to deepen their understanding, this glossary provides an extensive and interconnected repository of artistic knowledge.

Other than a pulldown menu for quick reference, there's also a fully displayed conventional  HTML version accessible here for continuous reading and exploration.

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Closer to Vermeer: New Research on the Painter and his Art

Closer to Vermeer explores the world of Johannes Vermeer, a painter whose work continues to fascinate more than 350 years after his death. Taking the landmark 2023 Rijksmuseum exhibition as a point of departure, this volume brings together new art-historical and technical research by leading international experts. How did Vermeer translate his creative ideas into paint? Did the seventeenth-century Dutch master truly rely on optical devices? What do the carefully rendered objects in his interiors reveal about the artist himself? And how has the perception of his small but extraordinary oeuvre evolved over time?

Using the latest imaging techniques, researchers scrutinize Vermeer’s masterpieces, yielding compelling new insights into his artistic process, material choices, and technical virtuosity. These investigations contribute to a deeper understanding of Vermeer’s painting technique throughout his career. Other specialists revisit seventeenth-century sources, uncover new archival documents, and explore Vermeer’s patrons and the material world he portrayed. The objects depicted in his interiors—maps, pearls, porcelain, kitchenware—are examined not merely as visual motifs, but as clues to his worldview and working methods.

At once scholarly and accessible, Closer to Vermeer offers a fresh, intimate perspective on one of the most enigmatic and beloved painters—a vital resource and enduring reference for specialists and art lovers alike.

Contents

• Taco Dibbits
  "The Oeuvre of Johannes Vermeer
• Note from the Editors
• Foreword
• Pieter Roelofs
  Closer to Vermeer at the Rijksmuseum: The 2023 Retrospective Exhibition in Amsterdam
• Anna Krekeler, Francesca Gabrieli, Annelies van Loon and Ige Verslype
  Compositions in the Making: Vermeer’s Changes
• Ige Verslype
  Vermeer’s Canvases: Weave Maps and Matches in a Wider Perspective
• Paul J.C. van Laar
  Illuminating the Obscure: The Relationship between Vermeer’s Works and Seventeenth-Century Optical Developments
• David G. Stork
  Did Vermeer Use Optics? New Insights from Computer-Assisted Connoisseurship
• Maria de Knuijt and Judith Noorman
  Women’s Vermeers: Maria de Knuijt and New Archival Documentation on Vermeer’s Primary Patron
• Helen Howard, Matteo Borri, Melchior Di Crescenzo, David Peggie, Rachel Billinge, Catherine Higgitt and Marika Spring
  Young Woman Seated at a Virginal and Young Woman Standing at a Virginal: A New Technical Study of Two of Vermeer’s Late Masterpieces
• Dorothy Mahon, Silvia A. Centeno and Federico Carò
  A Maid Asleep and Study of a Young Woman: New Discoveries from Imaging and Chemical Analyses
• Kathryn A. Dooley, John K. Delaney, E. Melanie Gifford, Dina Anchin, Lisha D. Glinsman, Alexandra Libby and Marjorie E. Wieseman
  The Man Beneath Vermeer’s Girl with the Red Hat: Improved Visualization Using Chemical Imaging
• Paul Taylor
  Vermeer’s Art of Painting: Catharina Bolnes’s ‘Schilderconst’ and the Viennese Schilderkamer
• Elke Oberthaler, Frederik Vrameert, Katharina Uhlir, Steven De Meyer and Koen Janssens
  Tracing the Effects of Ageing in Johannes Vermeer’s The Art of Painting: A Closer Look at Palmette
• Annelies van Loon, Francesca Gabrieli, Anna Krekeler, Ige Verslype and Frederik Vrameert
  From Palette to Perfection: Vermeer’s Distinctive Use of Blue and Green Pigments
• Frederik Vrameert, Maartje Stols-Witlox, Annelies van Loon and Koen Janssens
  Vermeer’s White(s): Seventeenth-Century Methods Used to Manipulate the Working Properties of Lead White
• Paolo D'Imporzano and Gareth R. Davies
  Lead Isotope Studies of Vermeer’s Paintings: Myths and Realities
• Aimee Ng
  Vermeer’s Pearls: Considering the Place of Pearls in the Artist’s World and Imagination
• Christian An
  Object Matters: Vermeer, Material Culture and Adaptations of Asian Porcelain
• Alexandra van Dongen
  The Tangible World of Johannes Vermeer: Domestic Artefacts as Artists’ Props
• Rozemarijn J.W. Landsman
  The Highlights of Vermeer’s Maps
• Evelyne Verheggen
  Painted Devotion to Saints in Vermeer’s Allegory of the Catholic Faith
• Esther van Duijn, Sabrina Meloni, Carol Pottasch and Ige Verslype
  Retouching and Overpainting Vermeer: A Historical Perspective
• Justine Rinnooy Kan, Daphne Martens, Quentin Buvelot and Ariane van Suchtelen
  Vermeer in the Spotlight: The Exhibitions of 1935, 1966 and 1995–1996
• Abbie Vandivere
  Who’s that Girl? Girl with a Pearl Earring in 1665, and her Current Appearance in 3D
• Jonathan Janson
  Essential Vermeer

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Revisiting Vermeer’s Delft residence—A response to Hans Slager

"A Brief Reply to Hans Slager on the Issue of Vermeer's Residence" by Frans Grijzenhout
https://www.essentialvermeer.com/misc/finding-vermeer-reply-to-slager-final.html

In his new article, "A Brief Reply to Hans Slager on the Issue of Vermeer's Residence," Frans Grijzenhout respond to Hans Slager’s rejection of his earlier argument regarding the Delft residence of Johannes Vermeer and his family. Contrary to Slager’s claim that the family lived in the smaller Trapmolen house on the western corner of Oude Langendijk and Molenpoort, Grijzenhout maintain—based on primary documentation—that they resided in the more spacious Groot Serpent on the eastern corner. This conclusion draws heavily on the only known tax register to mention Maria Thins, Vermeer’s mother-in-law, and her neighbors, placing her among the wealthiest citizens of Delft in 1674.

Grijzenhout addresses Slager's doubts about the sequential nature of this register and demonstrate that his key objection—centered on the residency of one Jannetge Stevens—is unsupported by archival evidence. Detailed analysis of property transactions and estate inventories shows that Stevens did not own or occupy the relevant properties until well after 1674. The register’s structure thus remains reliable for establishing residential order, supporting my original claim.

While the precise location of Vermeer’s home might seem trivial compared to broader historical questions, it has important implications for understanding his social context and the domestic settings so central to his art. Grijzenhout concludes by reaffirming his earlier findings and briefly countering Slager’s reinterpretation of the location of the Jesuit church east of Molenpoort, a topic not directly related to Vermeer but touched upon in his critique.

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Special Vermeer exhibiton at the newly reopened Frick Collection in 2025

Vermeer’s Love Letters
June 18 –September 8, 2025
Frick Collection, New York
https://www.frick.org/exhibitions/vermeer_love_letters/video

The Frick Collection will reopen in April 2025 (exact date to be announced), introducing significant changes and additions to its renowned New York City mansion. Among the highlights of the reopening is a groundbreaking Vermeer exhibition, Vermeer’s Love Letters,which will bring together three notable Vermeer paintings with a letter-writing theme: Mistress and Maid (Frick Collection), The Love Letter (Rijksmuseum), and Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid (National Gallery of Ireland). This exhibition will run from June 18 to September 8, 2025, and will showcase Vermeer's intimate depictions of letter-writing within a specially-designed gallery, offering an unparalleled viewing experience, and will offer visitors an opportunity to consider Vermeer’s treatment of the theme of letters as well as his depiction of women of different social classes.

The exhibition is curated by Dr. Robert Fucci, a distinguished expert on Vermeer from the University of Amsterdam, who will author a catalogue focused on the three works and their broader themes in seventeenth-century Dutch art.

In addition to the Vermeer exhibition, the museum’s extensive renovations include opening the second floor of the mansion to the public for the first time. This newly accessible space will feature ten galleries, including the Boucher Room in its original setting, along with displays of recently acquired objects, clocks, and watches. Visitors can also explore a new Cabinet Gallery on the first floor, which will exhibit rare drawings and sketches by artists such as Rubens, Degas, and Goya.

This reopening underscores the Frick's dedication to both its historic legacy and the enhancement of public access to its collections, aiming to captivate both new and returning visitors with its transformed and expanded spaces.

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Vermeer-related temporary exhibiton in Marseille

Lire le ciel. Sous les étoiles en Méditerranée (Reading the Sky: Under the Stars in the Mediterranean)
July 9, 2025– January 5, 2026
Mucem in Marseille (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur)
https://www.mucem.org/programme/exposition-et-temps-forts/lire-le-ciel

from the museum website:
The exhibition Reading the Sky explores how the night sky has been perceived in the Mediterranean region, as seen from Earth. From the earliest records of the ancient Mesopotamian heavens to the popularity of contemporary astrology—passing through medieval Arab-Muslim astronomy and the Galilean revolution—Mediterranean societies have looked to the stars to understand their place in the cosmos and to organize life on Earth. Knowledge and belief circulated across the region, establishing a shared cultural understanding of the sky that still informs how we think about the stars today.

Among the 150 works on display will be Vermeer's masterwork, The Astronomer. It will be on display during the first three months of the exhibition, until October 7th, together with The Astronomer by Luca Giordano (from Musée de Chambéry).

Through a dialogue between art and science, the exhibition seeks to question our present-day connection to the starry sky. Since Antiquity, observing the regularity of celestial bodies has allowed humans to structure daily life, such as navigating across land and sea or establishing calendars. Celestial phenomena were also seen as signs influencing everyday life: the phases of the Moon, the passage of comets, the movements of planets through constellations, and so on. This link between macrocosm and microcosm played a role in the governance of states and the interpretation of individual behavior, with astronomy and astrology long functioning in tandem.

Although modern astronomy has challenged many of these beliefs, popular culture continues to maintain a deep connection with the stars, viewing the sky as a canvas for projecting fundamental human questions. Today, even as the stars are fading under urban light pollution, we still search for constellations, gaze at the beauty of the night sky, and reflect on our relationship with the environment.

Reading the Sky presents exceptional works of art and everyday objects that bear witness to this history, shown alongside contemporary artworks that respond to them. In keeping with the Mucem’s transdisciplinary approach, the exhibition blends archaeological, scientific, and ethnographic objects with works of art, manuscripts, and oral heritage. It includes more than one hundred works from Mucem’s own collection and benefits from over two hundred loans from national, regional, and international institutions.

curators:
Juliette Bessette, historienne de l’art, Université de Lausanne
Enguerrand Lascols, conservateur du patrimoine, Mucem

catalogue:
https://www.laprocure.com/product/1883334/lire-le-ciel-sous-les-etoiles-de-la-mediterranee?srsltid=AfmBOorEqTXitxVdLvs60T4UhKzxHvsu6Cp6HnXBGNaZZ1n_3jd8G48G

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EV founder Jonathan Janson questions authenticity of Young Woman Seated at the Virginal (Leiden Collection)

"Young Woman Seated at a Virginal: A Second Look"
Jonathan Janson
https://www.essentialvermeer.com/misc/Young-Woman-Seated-at-a-Virginal-A-Second-Look.pdf

Since the 2004 sale of Young Woman Seated at a Virginal at Sotheby’s, this small canvas has been accepted as an authentic painting by Vermeer almost exclusively on the basis of a decade-long technical investigation spearheaded by Sotheby’s itself. Since then, there has been only a handful of high-intensity critical analyses of this "new Vermeer." In this essay, I attempt to evaluate the picture from a fresh point of view via a side-by-side comparison with Vermeer’s later works, such as The Lacemaker, The Guitar Player, Lady Standing at a Virginal, and Lady Seated at a Virginal. These paintings—whatever their expressive merit—rank among Vermeer's most technically refined and compositionally innovative achievements, and, by comparison, I believe, expose the rudimentary design and numerous technical shortcomings of the Leiden painting that have thus far been substantively unaddressed.

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The Washington D. C: National Gallery of Art removes Vermeer's Girl with a Flute from display

Girl with a Flute, now attributed by the National Gallery of Art (NGA) to the "studio of Johannes Vermeer" rather than to the artist himself, is currently not on display. While the NGA has provided no future date for its return to view, the gallery explains that its temporary removal is due to the challenge of creating a balanced wall display and managing the limited space available to exhibit its collection.

In light of the NGA's reclassification, the decision not to display the painting may disadvantage both visitors and scholars who wish to evaluate and enjoy the painting, as it limits opportunities to engage with this debated work, especially considering that the work was for years hung next to Vermeer's Girl with a Red Hat and Woman Holding a Balance, and in close proximity to the Lady Writing. Displaying Girl with a Flute alongside the these Vermeer paintings would offer an invaluable chance for comparison and analysis, particularly given its historical inclusion in Vermeer's oeuvre. The reasoning behind the painting’s reattribution is detailed in the online publication "Vermeer’s Studio and the Girl with a Flute: New Findings from the National Gallery of Art," Journal of Historians of Netherlandish Art 14:2 (Summer 2022), authored by Marjorie E. Wieseman, Alexandra Libby, E. Melanie Gifford, and Dina Anchin.

Following the NGA publication, the Rijksmuseum displayed Girl with a Flute as an authentic Vermeer in its 2023 Vermeer retrospective. Jonathan Janson, founder of Essential Vermeer, has released a YouTube video defending the painting's authenticity, critically analyzing the NGA's claims and presenting arguments in support of its attribution to Vermeer.

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Vermeer-Related Exhibition: From Rembrandt to Vermeer, Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection

From Rembrandt to Vermeer, Masterpieces from The Leiden Collection
H’ART Museum, Amsterdam
April 9–August 24, 2025
https://www.hartmuseum.nl/en/exhibitions/rembrandt-to-vermeer/

To celebrate Amsterdam’s 750th anniversary, From Rembrandt to Vermeer showcases various aspects of daily city life in the 17th century. All seventy-five paintings on display come from The Leiden Collection, founded by Thomas S. Kaplan and Daphne Recanati Kaplan. Featuring no fewer than 18 Rembrandts and many other important Dutch pictures, the exhibition concludes with the Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, attributed to Vermeer.

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Vermeer-Related Publication: John Ringling and the Greta Garbo Vermeer

John Ringling and the Greta Garbo Vermeer
Linda R. McKee and Deborah W. Walk
August 17, 2024
https://amzn.to/4a1jTQ1

John Ringling was one of the most prolific encyclopedic art collectors of the early twentieth century in America. Despite many purchases and acquisitions, his eponymous museum in Sarasota, Florida contained few written records of his art activities. This all changed in 1995 when The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art Archives received a treasure trove of German archival documents sent to them by Julius Böhler's nephew, Florian Eitle-Böhler. There was now secure evidence that Ringling was not only a collector, he was an investor and partner, working in close consort with his dealer Julius Wilhelm Böhler (1883-1966).

This book is a case study of the life of a painting that typifies much of the unpleasant side of the business of the international art world. The story is a result of serendipity, the author in 2008 reading Jonathan Lopez's book, The Man Who Made Vermeers: Unvarnishing the Legend of Master Forger Han van Meegeren, and discovering that Ringling himself was once the co-owner, not of a Van Meegeren, but of a well-known but poor Vermeer imitation, The Girl With the Blue Hat.