The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened the most significant exhibition of Johannes Vermeer paintings ever mounted in the United States on Monday, bringing together 12 works by the 17th-century Dutch master in a presentation that has already been called a once-in-a-generation event.
“Vermeer: Light and Shadow” runs through April 12, 2026, and includes loans from museums in Amsterdam, The Hague, London, Paris, and Vienna. Three of the works have never been displayed in America, while several others have not crossed the Atlantic in decades.
“This exhibition represents years of diplomatic negotiation,” said Max Hollein, the Met’s director. “Vermeer painted only 36 known works during his lifetime. To gather 12 in one place is extraordinary.”
The exhibition centers on “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” on loan from the Mauritshuis in The Hague for just three months. The iconic painting, often called the “Mona Lisa of the North,” has not been displayed in New York since 2013.
Museum officials expect the painting to draw enormous crowds, and have implemented timed entry for the gallery where it hangs. Visitors will be limited to five minutes with the work during peak hours.
“We want everyone to have a moment with the girl,” said exhibition curator Adam Eaker. “But we also want to protect both the painting and the visitor experience.”
Surrounding the centerpiece work are some of Vermeer’s finest achievements. “The Milkmaid” from the Rijksmuseum and “Woman Holding a Balance” from the National Gallery of Art in Washington flank one wall. “The Lacemaker” from the Louvre occupies a corner lit to approximate the natural light Vermeer would have used in his Delft studio.
The exhibition design emphasizes the intimate scale of Vermeer’s work. Unlike Rembrandt or Rubens, who worked on large canvases for public commissions, Vermeer painted small, domestic scenes meant to be viewed closely. Galleries have been arranged to recreate that intimacy, with low lighting and restricted sight lines that reveal each painting individually.
“Vermeer asks you to slow down,” Eaker explained during a press preview. “He rewards patience and attention. Our design tries to honor that.”
The exhibition includes extensive contextual material explaining Vermeer’s techniques and his place in Dutch Golden Age society. Scientific analyses of several paintings reveal how Vermeer achieved his famous luminosity through careful layering of lead white and natural ultramarine, one of the most expensive pigments of his era.
A separate gallery explores Vermeer’s use of the camera obscura, a device that projected images onto a surface through a small hole. Art historians have long debated whether Vermeer used such a device, and the exhibition presents evidence on both sides without reaching a definitive conclusion.
“The mystery is part of what makes him fascinating,” Eaker said. “We know so little about his life and methods. Every painting is also a puzzle.”
The exhibition arrives during a strong season for the Met, which has seen attendance rebound to pre-pandemic levels. Recent blockbusters on Monet and the Medici have drawn large crowds, but officials expect Vermeer to surpass both.
Advance tickets, required for timed entry, went on sale in October and have sold steadily. Weekend slots through January are largely sold out, though weekday availability remains. The museum has extended hours on Thursday and Friday evenings to accommodate demand.
Ticket prices for the special exhibition range from $30 to $45, in addition to regular museum admission. Members receive free entry but must still reserve timed slots.
Local art critics have praised the exhibition’s scholarship and presentation. Writing in The New York Times, Roberta Smith called it “a pilgrimage every art lover should make,” while the New Yorker’s Peter Schjeldahl described the experience as “standing in the presence of miracles.”
For visitors unable to make the journey, the Met has produced an extensive digital companion including high-resolution images and virtual gallery tours. A documentary film premiering on PBS in January will bring the exhibition to national audiences.
But curators emphasized that digital reproductions, however sophisticated, cannot capture what makes Vermeer special.
“These paintings must be seen in person,” Hollein said. “The light, the texture, the scale - nothing else conveys their power. We have created a rare opportunity. New Yorkers should not miss it.”
The exhibition is located in the Met’s second-floor European painting galleries. Entry is through the museum’s Fifth Avenue entrance, with accessible entry available on 81st Street.
