Vermeer: Origin and Influence
PastFabritius, de Hooch, de Witte
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam
- Dates
- 9 Jul 1935 – 9 Oct 1935
The first exhibition ever titled 'Vermeer'. Dirk Hannema's catalogue numbered roughly fourteen works in the Vermeer section to celebrate the opening of the new Boijmans building. By modern standards only eight are autograph Vermeers; the remaining six have since been rejected or reattributed, including the Van Wijngaarden forgeries of The Smiling Girl and The Lacemaker (now NGA Washington), the Brussels Portrait of a Young Man (now given to the Maes/Fabritius circle), a Yorkshire Magdalen and other anonymous heads. Contrary to popular belief, Van Meegeren's Christ at Emmaus was not in this show — it did not yet exist. 61,749 visitors. Poster by Fré Cohen.
Paintings10
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary
1654–1656
Diana and her Companions
1653–1656
The Milkmaid
1657–1661
The Little Street
1657–1661
Young Woman with a Water Pitcher
1662–1665
Woman in Blue Reading a Letter
1662–1665
A Lady Writing
1662–1667
The Geographer
1668–1669
Theodorus van Wijngaarden (attributed)
The Smiling Girl
1925
Forgery
Theodorus van Wijngaarden (attributed)
The Lacemaker
1925
ForgerySources
- Justine Rinnoy Kan, 'The Vermeer exhibition of 1935: a major debut in historical perspective,' Oud Holland 134 (2021), no. 4, pp. 210–234
- Gary Schwartz, 'Schwartzlist 416: The Vermeer exhibitions of 1935' (23 April 2023)
- Jonathan Janson, Essential Vermeer — Vermeer Catalogue with Exhibitions for each Painting (essentialvermeer.com)
- Dirk Hannema, Vermeer: Oorsprong en invloed. Fabritius, De Hooch, De Witte, exh. cat. (Museum Boymans, Rotterdam, 1935), 48 pp.