It’s been a historic year at the Rijksmuseum, thanks in part to the Vermeer exhibition, which ran for four months this spring. It was the best-attended exhibition in the history of the museum. For those who would love to enjoy Vermeer one more time, today sees the launch of Vermeer, experience the exhibition from home, an online 360° tour of the exhibition.
2.7 million people visited the Rijksmuseum in 2023, and their average rating for their experience at the museum was 8.5. More than 1 million of the total were based in the Netherlands, while the largest proportions of international visitors came from the United States (12 per cent of all visitors), followed by France and Germany (both 7 per cent). The number of children who visited the Rijksmuseum in 2023 was 473,000. The figure for online visits is many times higher, with 8.2 million people visiting the website plus a social media reach of 77 million.
Our visiting public gave us very high ratings for the Vermeer exhibition: the average visitor rating was 8.7. It also garnered rave reviews worldwide. More than 650.000 people were able to see it, thanks partly to our extended opening times. The online experience Closer to Johannes Vermeer, with Stephen Fry and Joy Delima, allowed an additional global audience of 900,000 to enjoy Vermeer’s work. And, starting today, everyone is welcome to take the 360° online tour of the new virtual Vermeer exhibition.
The arrival of The Standard Bearer was another historic moment for the Rijksmuseum this year. This masterpiece painted by Rembrandt in 1636 was purchased by the Dutch state with support from the Rembrandt Association, the VriendenLoterij (Friends Lottery) and the Rijksmuseum Fund. Hundreds of schoolchildren welcomed the painting to the Rijksmuseum’s Gallery of Honour at the celebratory event on 14 June. It is now on permanent display in that gallery, having toured to museums in all 12 provinces of the Netherlands for one month each throughout the year. More than 155,000 people visited The Standard Bearer on Tour.
Main Image :Installation exhibition Vermeer: Photo Rijksmuseum/Kelly Schenk
Anna Melnykova, "Palace of Labor (palats praci), architector I. Pretro, 1916", shot with analog Canon camera, 35 mm Fuji film in March 2022.
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