Vermeer's Masterpiece “The Milkmaid”

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Vermeer’s Masterpiece “The Milkmaid” September 10, 2009–November 29, 2009

On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of Henry Hudson’s historic voyage to Manhattan from Amsterdam, that city’s Rijksmuseum will send The Milkmaid, perhaps the most admired painting by Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), to the Metropolitan Museum. To celebrate this extraordinary loan, the Metropolitan Museum will present Vermeer’s Masterpiece The Milkmaid, a special exhibition that will bring together all five paintings by Vermeer from its collection, along with a select group of works by other Dutch artists, placing Vermeer’s superb picture in its historical context. Along with The Milkmaid, important works by Pieter de Hooch, Gabriël Metsu, Nicolaes Maes, Emanuel de Witte, and Gerard ter Borch will be on view. All were masters who, like Vermeer, were active during the remarkable period of exploration, trade, and artistic flowering that occurred during the Dutch Golden Age in the seventeenth century. Vermeer’s Masterpiece The Milkmaid will mark the first time that the painting has traveled to the United States since it was exhibited at the 1939 World’s Fair. Accompanied by a publication.

The exhibition is made possible by the William Randolph Hearst Foundation, Daphne Recanati Kaplan and Thomas S. Kaplan, and Bernard and Louise Palitz.

Stop 600: Introduction

Stop 601 Stop 601a Stop 602 Stop 602a

The Milkmaid, ca. 1657–58 Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675) Oil on canvas; 18 x 16 1/8 in. (45.5 x 41 cm) Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Purchase, 1908, with aid from the Rembrandt Society

Stop 603

A Woman Seated at a Window, ca. 1660 Gabriël Metsu (Dutch, 1629–1667) Oil on wood 10 7/8 x 8 7/8 in. (27.6 x 22.5 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982 (1982.60.32)

Stop 604: Works on Paper Stop 604a: Works on Paper, 2nd Level

Stop 605

The Visit, ca. 1657 Pieter de Hooch (Dutch, 1629–1684) Oil on wood 26 3/4 x 23 in. (67.9 x 58.4 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art H. O. Havemeyer Collection, Bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929 (29.100.7)

Stop 606 Stop 606a

A Kitchen, ca. 1643 Hendrick Sorgh (Dutch, 1609/11–1670) Oil on wood 20 1/2 x 17 3/8 in. (52.1 x 44.1 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1889 (89.15.7)

Stop 607

A Maid Asleep, ca. 1656–57 Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675) Oil on canvas 34 1/2 x 30 1/8 in. (87.6 x 76.5 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913 (14.40.611)

Stop 607a

Young Woman Peeling Apples, ca. 1655 Nicolaes Maes (Dutch, 1634–1693) Oil on wood 21 1/2 x 18 in. (54.6 x 45.7 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bequest of Benjamin Altman, 1913 (14.40.612)

Stop 608

Young Woman with a Water Pitcher, ca. 1662 Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675) Oil on canvas 18 x 16 in. (45.7 x 40.6 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art Marquand Collection, Gift of Henry G. Marquand, 1889 (89.15.21)

Stop 608a

A Young Woman at Her Toilet with a Maid, ca. 1650–51 Gerard ter Borch (Dutch, 1617–1681) Oil on wood 18 3/4 x 13 5/8 in. (47.6 x 34.6 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 (17.190.10)

Stop 609

Woman with a Lute, ca. 1662–63 Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675) Oil on canvas 20 1/4 x 18 in. (51.4 x 45.7 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bequest of Collis P. Huntington, 1900 (25.110.24)

Stop 609a

Study of a Young Woman, ca. 1665–67 Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675) Oil on canvas 17 1/2 x 15 3/4 in. (44.5 x 40 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wrightsman, in memory of Theodore Rousseau, Jr., 1979 (1979.396.1)

Stop 610

Allegory of the Catholic Faith, ca. 1670–72 Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, 1632–1675) Oil on canvas 45 x 35 in. (114.3 x 88.9 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931 (32.100.18)

Stop 610a

Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft, 1650 Emanuel de Witte (Dutch, ca. 1616–1692) Oil on wood 19 x 13 5/8 in. (48.3 x 34.6 cm) The Metropolitan Museum of Art Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace, Virgilia and Walter C. Klein, The Walter C. Klein Foundation, Edwin Weisl Jr., and Frank E. Richardson Gifts, and Bequest of Theodore Rousseau and Gift of Lincoln Kirstein, by exchange, 2001 (2001.403)

Interior of the Oude Kerk, Delft, 1660 Hendrick van Vliet (Dutch, 1611/12–1675) Oil on canvas

MMA/Vermeer’s Masterpiece: The Milkmaid/Antenna Audio Guide DLT Stop 7 List/ Antenna Audio Inc. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art ©2009 The Metropolitan Museum of Art 32 1/2 x 26 in. (82.6 x 66 cm) Gift of Clarence Dillon, 1976 (1976.23.2)

Stop 611: Conclusion

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