Girl with a Pearl Earring travels to Japan while Mauritshuis is Closed

Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of the most famous paintings in the world, and is a key reason for many people to visit the Mauritshuis. It is therefore loaned to other institutions only in highly exceptional circumstances.

The Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka will display Girl with a Pearl Earring during the alterations in the Mauritshuis. The presentation will be organised by the Asahi Shimbun, one of the largest media organisations in Japan, with which the Mauritshuis has collaborated for several years. The Asahi Shimbun has decided to support the Mauritshuis as a project partner over the next four years.

Martine Gosselink, general director of the Mauritshuis: ‘The Asahi Shimbun has been a highly valued partner of our museum since the major revamping of the Mauritshuis between 2012 and 2014. The Asahi Shimbun organises several exhibitions each year with museums around the world. We are highly honoured to be able to work with the media organisation on the presentation in Osaka in 2026. Every year, we welcome thousands of Japanese tourists who love Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. For the Mauritshuis, the Girl’s trip to Japan is a unique opportunity for us to share her with the Japanese public, perhaps for the very last time.’

Girl with a Pearl Earring went on a world tour while major building work was being carried out at the Mauritshuis in 2012–2014. The touring exhibition provided important funding for the renovations. In Japan, the painting was shown at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and in the city of Kobe. It then moved on to the United States for the exhibition The Masters of the 17th Century: Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis. A total of 2.2 million people visited the touring exhibition.

*The Mauritshuis will be closed to the public from Monday 24 August to Sunday 20 September