In a shock transfer, the Mauristhuis in The Hague, Netherlands, yesterday introduced that it’s going to lend its most well-known work to the Nakanoshima Museum of Artwork in Osaka, Japan, this summer time.
Lady with a Pearl Earring (round 1665) by Johannes Vermeer, one in all solely 37 recognized works by the artist, was banned from travelling in 2014 as a result of its excessive profile standing because the star exhibit on the Dutch museum. Its deliberate journey is because of the closure of the Mauritshuis from 24 August-20 September whereas alterations are made to the constructing.
“Lady with a Pearl Earring is among the most well-known work on the planet, and is a key purpose for many individuals to go to the Mauritshuis,” says an announcement from the museum. “It’s due to this fact loaned to different establishments solely in extremely distinctive circumstances.”
The portray took a brief sojourn in 2023 for the most important Johannes Vermeer survey exhibition on the Rijksmuseum, however has not travelled internationally since its world tour in 2012–14, the final time the Mauritshuis was closed for constructing work.
The travelling exhibition The Masters of the seventeenth Century: Dutch Portray from the Mauritshuis went to Tokyo and Kobe earlier than opening on the Frick in New York. The touring present was visited by 2.2 million individuals and helped to fund the Mauritshuis’s renovations.
The exhibition on the Nakanoshima Museum of Artwork will probably be organised by the Asahi Shimbun, one of many largest media organisations in Japan. Asahi Shimbun, which additionally sponsored the 2012-14 touring exhibition, will work as a undertaking associate with Mauritshuis over the following 4 years.
“The Asahi Shimbun organises a number of exhibitions annually with museums around the globe,” says Martine Gosselink, the final director of the Mauritshuis, in an announcement. “We’re extremely honoured to have the ability to work with the media organisation on the presentation in Osaka in 2026.”
The cash raised from the mortgage will assist to fund the Mauritshuis’s alterations in addition to the refurbishment and operation of a close-by constructing on Korte Vijverberg that the museum took over on 1 December 2025. The museum is presently fundraising to create a Mauritshuis Schooling Centre within the new constructing in 2028.
On X, the Dutch ambassador to Japan, Gilles Beschoor Plug mentioned: “The Lady with the Pearl Earring nearly by no means travels. And if she does, solely to very particular locations. Equivalent to #Osaka.” Gosselink provides that the Mauritshuis welcomes 1000’s of Japanese vacationers yearly who love Vermeer’s Lady with a Pearl Earring.
“The Lady’s journey to Japan is a singular alternative for us to share her with the Japanese public, maybe for the final time,” she says.
