In 2023 the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam will be staging what is being billed as the ‘largest’ exhibition of Vermeer’s work ever. The precise number of his works which will be on show is open to debate, as recent research has removed some works from his oeuvre, and added more in… However, from a career which barely spanned two decades, only around 35 paintings survive, and most of them will be on display. This will include The Girl with the Pearl Earring, which the Mauritshuis had previously said would never leave The Hague, and works from the Frick in New York. Ongoing refurbishment means that the founder’s restrictions can be relaxed, and they can, for the first time, lend their paintings. These are just a few of the treasures from around the world you will be able to see. 

In week 1 we put the master's career in context by looking at the Prinsenhof's exhibition, Vermeer's Delft, and this week we will conclude with a thorough exploration of the Rijksmuseum’s display, seeking out the clues in the instruments, works of art and other aspects of interior decoration he depicts, in order to come to a fuller understanding of the varied implied meanings of the master’s enigmatic paintings – that very enigma being central to their compelling charm.