Good thing we had already planned to go to the Mauritshuis.

A BBC article this morning:

https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/...eers-paintings

Thanks for posting the article. I am really lookout forward to seeing this exhibit.

I just got a digital friends code for the museum. The email stated that as a friend we don’t have to book start times for the exhibit. It’s good to know that there is a separate line and discounts also. You do have to show your code and id when entering.

The Rijksmuseum will be giving an after-hours live tour of the exhibition on their Instagram on Tuesday:
Dutch: Tuesday 28 Feb. / 6 - 6.30 PM cet
English: Tuesday 28 Feb. / 6.30 - 7 PM cet

An update about the exhibit: we went on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. On both days our entries were timed for the earliest slot, 9 am.

There was quite a long line up of people waiting for the doors to open, but once they started to admit people, it moved fairly quickly. We were in the doors by 9:10, and we weren't near the front of the line:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fa675c5b7.jpeg

On one of the days we left the Rijksmuseum around 11 am, and there was only a very short line waiting to get in. It all seems well-organized.

The exhibit itself is spectacular. For those upthread who were speculating about crowds, the answer is yes, but if you are patient, you will be able to shuffle right up to the painting and be able to view it from about a metre away. This is what I typically saw in front of each painting, although there were sometimes many more people and, in that funny way crowds move, sometimes only one other person. This was The Girl With The Pearl Earring as I approached it, and a moment or two later, I was right in front.


https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e2bda8e58.jpeg


I am very happy that we were able to attend, and I hope others who have tickets enjoy it as much as we did.

We fly home tomorrow.

Thanks for the update! I go in 2 weeks and also have a 9 am slot good to know the line moves fast!

Thanks for the update, A.A.! I appreciate you sharing your experience.

Thanks AA. It sounds like it is all very easy. Safe travels.

Good to have the 9 am tickets; we did too and had the same experience. Very close-up view of spectacular paintings. And do see the Stephen Fry preview on the Rijksmuseum website before you go. It is really excellent and makes you look at the details once you see the paintings.

I've heard a lot about Stephen Fry's preview but since we know how spectacular Rijksmuseum exhibitions are, and for me and my sister, the installation, wall colors, physical hang and lighting are all part of our experience, we're both choosing to remain unspoiled on any video/photos/reviews. Or trying to! Since I have my own personal art history guide with me, I think I'll be ok! ;)

We are here now, saw it this morning and it surpassed my expectations. I remained unspoiled until today so other than the few posts up thread I had no idea how they had hung this or organized it. We had 9 am entry and arrived at 8:30 to find about 30 people ahead of us. They let folks in in groups of 5-10. Dropped our coats in the locker and headed in. Not too crowded at all. Only had to wait to get in front of the Girl With the Pearl and Girl reading a letter at open window (the newly cleaned one with the Cupid painting revealed). We got to the end and then went back through to the second room which was our favorite and enjoyed it all again. No one seemed to care that we did and it was not so crowded even at 10:40. I think they did extremely well with crowd control. It helped that other than the main thematic descriptions for each room, there were no labels to read on the paintings beyond the title and the loaning institution. Overall definitely an experience of a lifetime! Worth the trek from Boston!

Thanks for sharing the link to the BBC article and your experiences! I am so envious!!! There was just a feature on it on one of our Sunday news shows that featured the show and said the tickets sold out immediately. It all began when one of the museums (Frick? amazingly they own 3, but I am not sure,) was shutting down a section for renovation and were going to store their Vermeers. The Rijksmuseum approached them and were delighted when they got them and others followed suit. The dates cannot be extended because everyone is eager to to get one of their crowd pleasers back for tourist season. I am happy they are extending their hours for maximum viewing opportunities. It sounds fantastic!

I think museums can learn from this Vermeer exhibition; audioguides can cause queues in front of paintings when people stop and listen to the story before moving on. There were no 'live' guides allowed here either. instead there is a really excellent preview of the exhibition by Stephen Fry, and one by a Dutch expert. If you see this just before going, you really notice the little details that the experts talked about.

amyb thanks for sharing your experience. I am looking forward to our visit in April.

amyb- We must of passed each other in the museum. The only thing I will add is if you have a friends of the museum pass you don’t have to wait in the line. Go to the front of the line as there is an area for entry for the friends. I just showed them my pass and they gave me my armband and let me in. I did go forward and backwards in the exhibit. It is really quite stunning. There is some explanations about the paintings in each room that I enjoyed reading.

This is good to know; thanks Paqngo.

One thing I’ll add not related to Vermeer but if you’re here and you love art and especially Rembrandt, there is a nice exhibition from the Leiden Collection on at Hermitage Amsterdam, the gem of which is a newly purchased Rembrandt, the smallest painting he did of an old man with a beard. It is no bigger than a baseball trading card but it is simply the most stunning painting I’ve seen by him, such detail!!

Agree with the last post; the exhibition of the Leiden Collection paintings at the Hermitage is well worth a visit. The American private collectors also own a Vermeer, which is shown at the Rijksmuseum now. And no problem at all getting tickets for the Hermitage, you can just buy at the door.

amyb, we also visited the Leiden Collection at Heritage Amsterdam, and I agree, that tiny Rembrandt is spectacular.

Paqngo, the friends of the museum pass is a true advantage; I saw several people entering without delay as we shuffled along in the timed entry lineup. Although, in fairness, the lineup moves along quickly enough.