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Rijksmuseum celebrates success of Vermeer show
Exhibition attracted 650,000 visitors over its 16-week run
The Rijksmuseum’s Vermeer exhibition was the most successful show in the Amsterdam gallery’s history.
The exhibition, which ran over 16 weeks from 10 February to 4 June, attracted 650,000 visitors from 113 nations. It featured 28 of the 37 works by the artist, including seven paintings that had never before been on public display in the Netherlands.
Vermeer’s Girl with the Pearl Earring was among the works on display, although it was returned to the Mauritshuis museum in The Hague on 30 March, eight weeks before the show closed.
The Rijksmuseum said 55% of the visitors came from the Netherlands, followed by 17%; from France, 16% from Germany 16% from the UK and 14% from the US.
Rijksmuseum general director Taco Dibbits said visitor numbers were limited numbers in order to give visitors the best experience possible.
The exhibition was designed by architect and designer Jean-Michel Wilmotte.
More than 100,000 copies of the Vermeer catalogue have been sold, more than any other exhibition catalogue in the history of the Rijksmuseum.
Nearly 800,000 people have engaged with the Closer to Johannes Vermeer website, which has won with two Webby Awards and a Golden European Design Award.