Not available in Amsterdam. Yet I will show why this is a key masterwork.
In 2023, from February 10 – June 4, you might have visited a Once in a Lifetime gathering of Vermeer Paintings in the Amsterdam Rijksmuseum.
Be prepared! An At Home presentation by Drs Kees Kaldenbach, art historian, will give you an in-depth perspective.
Also presented here: https://johannesvermeer.info/athomelecture
Also Home lectures on Vincent van Gogh and Rembrandt
Review / Testimony by and art and antique dealer: “Hello Kees, We want to express our greatest appreciation for the wonderful two hours you spent with us. Those two hours significantly enhanced our enjoyment of the Vermeer exhibit that we visited this morning. You are just GREAT! Roger and Carol
The Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam) is now staging the largest Vermeer exhibition ever in collaboration with the Mauritshuis (The Hague).
Until now, the most ambitious Vermeer exhibition was the 1995/1996 exhibit with 23 paintings exhibited in The Hague (21 in Washington, when the government institutions lockdown made viewing hard to impossible).
Taco Dibbits, the Rijksmuseum’s general director, amassed 28 pictures by Vermeer.
Vermeer, Dublin one of his late paintings.
Due to the fragility of Vermeer’s canvases coupled with the growing competition among museums for loans, Dibbits believes that a show, which on this scale is likely not to happen again, will provide a new generation of researchers and public a unique chance to study many of Vermeer’s major works side by side. For this exhibition, the Rijksmuseum is working closely with the Mauritshuis with a team of curators, restorers and natural scientists to examine in depth the seven paintings by Vermeer in Dutch possession. Works by Vermeer from other collections are also involved in this project.
At Home lecture with art historian Drs Kaldenbach
In addition to the works owned by the two museums, which include The Milkmaid and Woman in Blue Reading a Letter, other confirmed major loans to the show include The Girl with a Pearl Earring (from Mauritshuis), The Geographer (Staedel Museum, Frankfurt), Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid (National Gallery of Ireland), Woman Holding a Balance (National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.), and Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (Gemaeldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden).
The dedicated exhibition hall is VERY crowded and generally Vermeer paintings are rather small. Guiding there and then will be restricted so lecturing there will be less than optimal. However I can offer you a great university level alternative :
In my lifetime, I have seen and studied ALL Vermeer paintings in the world. Furthermore am a Vermeer professional, having built one of the best Vermeer web sites in the world, and during those months I offer you my unique At Home class either before or after your Rijksmuseum visit. Click on this link to this dedicated page.
Review / Testimonial by Kierstin, March 2023: “Thank you again for such an insightful two hours discussing Vermeer and his mysterious paintings. I felt especially lucky to have a one on one session so I could ask my many questions, to which you always had an answer! Visiting the extraordinary exhibition after our discussion truly enlightened my experience and I would not have looked at the artworks the same way, or looked for specific details had we not met. I am incredibly grateful for your time, knowledge, professionalism, storytelling, etc. What a treat! I would highly recommend others to take the time meet with Kees. 😊”
Lecture, March 6, in the Hilton hotel Amsterdam for about 120 members of the American Women’s Club: “Thank you for your time today and sharing your knowledge with us. It was very inspirational and I look forward to seeing the exhibit in May.”
About the teacher: Drs Kees Kaldenbach is an art historian having dedicated his professional life to Vermeer. He appeared in countless TV documentaries including BBC and Japanese TV and he is member of the Amsterdam Early Modernity / Golden Age circle of professionals. He is the author of a yet unpublished book on Vermeer. He has been lecturing and guiding in museums both in Holland and International since 22 years.
The Little Street in the Rijksmuseum. Photo shows me twenty years ago teaching there.
Business card. The logo has been crafted by Vermeer.