Press release 14/9/2017
National Gallery of Ireland celebrates attendances of over 100,000 to Vermeer exhibition.
Since it opened on 17 June, the Vermeer exhibition in the National Gallery of Ireland has attracted over 100,000 visitors. With just days to go before it closes on Sunday 17 September, the exhibition is completely sold out for the remainder of its run.
Curated by Dr Adriaan Waiboer, Head of Collections and Research in the National Gallery of Ireland, this revelatory exhibition celebrates the work of Johannes Vermeer (1632–1675), and presents new insights into the relationships the artist maintained with other great painters of the Dutch Golden Age. Ten masterpieces by Vermeer are included – representing nearly a third of the artist’s surviving works – alongside some superb examples by his contemporaries, Gerrit Dou, Gerard ter Borch and Frans van Mieris.
Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting: Inspiration and Rivalry will show at its final venue in the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, from 22 October 2017 to 21 January 2018. www.nga.gov
Sean Rainbird, Director of the National Gallery of Ireland says:
“We are delighted that so many of our visitors in Ireland and abroad have taken pleasure in viewing this extraordinary exhibition and participating in the supporting education events. This has been a wonderful summer for the Gallery, with the reopening of the refurbished galleries, new collection displays and the extensive public engagement programme. Many thanks to our visitors and supporters, in particular, exhibition partner, Zurich. We look forward to presenting an exciting programme of exhibitions and events this coming autumn.”
Following the success of the Vermeer exhibition, the Gallery will present a major show, Frederic William Burton: For the Love of Art, opening 25 October 2017. Advance ticket booking is now open online www.nationalgallery.ie. The exhibition is curated by Dr Marie Bourke, and will take an in depth look at the life and work of this Irish born artist, who established himself as a painter in London, spent a period in Germany and became director of The National Gallery in London. It will bring together 70 works by Burton featuring one of his best loved watercolours, The Meeting on the Turret Stairs, alongside works by the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood that influenced his taste and art, such as John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Edward Burne-Jones, Ford Maddox Brown and William Mulready.
Also on view this autumn is a display of prints and drawings by the German artist, Käthe Kollwitz (1867-1945), selected from the rich collection of the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart (until 10 December).
In November, the Gallery marks the 100th anniversary of William Orpen’s service as a war artist in Aftermath: The War Landscapes of William Orpen (11 November-11 February), featuring works from the Imperial War Museum.
The programme for 2018 opens with the Gallery’s annual exhibition of Turner watercolours in January, featuring new work by Niall Naessens. It will be followed by an exhibition of paintings and drawings by the German Expressionist, Emil Nolde, opening 14 February 2018, a collaboration with the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art.
See here for more on upcoming exhibitions.
Notes:
- The Vermeer exhibition coincided with the reopening in June 2017 of the refurbished historic wings of the National Gallery of Ireland. The Gallery has since welcomed over 450,000 visitors through its doors, an increase by over 100% on figures for the same period in 2016.
- In the 10 days following the reopening, the Gallery’s Facebook posts reached over 1 million people, with 1,966 new followers on Facebook. On Instagram, the Gallery had a reach of 78,000 in the ten day period. Since it went live on 15 June the Gallery’s redeveloped and redesigned website has had 300,000 sessions.
- The Gallery’s education programme of events tailored around the Vermeer exhibition on the theme ‘Setting the Scene’ attracted over 20,000 people attending 230 dedicated events during its run. A contemporary exhibition in response to the Vermeer show, ‘Inspiration and Rivalry: After Vermeer’, featuring original work by three practitioners: Brian Fay, Dragana Jurisic, and Maser is on show in the Millennium Wing Studio, until 17 September. Free admission.
Testimonials:
RA Magazine, September 2017
John Banville
“The ‘new’ gallery is a joy: stately as ever but with a cool contemporary beauty added, the place lifts the soul, and demonstrates the centrality of art to the life of the nation.”
The Lancet, Vol. 390 September 2017
Desmond O’Neill
“One of the earliest public galleries in Europe, this finely displayed collection of Irish and European art is now a lustrous setting for a uniquely illuminating experience.”
The Irish Times, 9 September 2017
Arminta Wallace
“If you haven’t seen the glorious new National Gallery shame on you. And if you haven’t seen Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting, you need to go. Now.”
BBC Radio 4, The Saturday Review, 19 August 2017
Tom Sutcliff
“To assemble ten Vermeers in one place is an achievement in itself…a really remarkable exhibition.”
Sally Gardner, author
“It is one of the most wonderful exhibitions I’ve been to”
Kathryn Hughes, historian,
“I just adored it (Vermeer)…I found it absolutely fascinating.”
Architecture Ireland, Issue 4 – July-August 2017
Dr Sandra O’Connell
“This is one of the largest refurbishment projects in the history of the state. The end result is a spectacular elegance and beauty that allows the paintings to shine and visitor numbers to soar.”
Apollo Magazine, August 2017
Tom Walker
“The renovated wings are abuzz. Old favourites, many now restored, are looking fresh and the (excellent) ‘Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting’ exhibition is packing in the punters…it is the quintessential international blockbuster show, and presumably it would have been impossible to host without newly available rooms. So the gallery is back playing with the big kids.”
Image Magazine, August 2017
Rosie McMeel
“Come rain or shine, I’ll happily withdraw to the newly refurbished National Gallery of Ireland any day of the week. Although losing myself among the outstanding Vermeer exhibition is irresistibly tempting, from Rubens to Rembrandt, the whole gallery offers delicious secrets of discovery.”
Irish Examiner, 12 August 2017
Des O’Sullivan
“The Vermeer exhibition is a remarkable summer offering now wowing the crowds at the National Gallery in Dublin.”
The Irish Times, 22 July 2017
Michael Parsons
“The room devoted to stained glass in the wonderfully refurbished Dargan wing of the National Gallery of Ireland is a reminder of the importance of this art form in Irish culture.”
The Financial Times, FT Weekend 8 July/9 July 2017
Claire Wrathall
“As Enda Kenny said in his speech at the Gallery, ‘we want to breathe new life into Ireland as an artistic nation.’ Which I’d say the revivified National Gallery of Ireland shows every sign of doing.”
Irish Arts Review, June Issue 2017
James Howley
“The National Gallery of Ireland now has a building that matches the highest environmental and security standards found in some of the great galleries in the world…”
theartsdesk.com, 22 June 2017
Marina Vaizey
“The marvellous National Gallery of Ireland, founded in the 1860s, has opened its doors to its brilliantly revamped, updated and expanded galleries. As a spectacular bonus in its opening summer, Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting reposes in the enfilade of the newly re-done permanent galleries for temporary exhibitions.”
The Sunday Independent, 18 June 2017
Niall MacMonagle
“Keats’s ‘A thing of beauty is a joy forever’ makes perfect sense once you step inside the Vermeer and the Masters of Genre Painting exhibition at the National Gallery.”
The Irish Times, 16 June 2017
Aidan Dunne
“Exhibitions don’t get any better than this.”
The Times, 16 June 2017
Rachel Campbell-Johnston
“This exhibition at the National Gallery of Ireland reminds you what art is all about. This, on the most simple level, is a show to luxuriate in.”
The Irish Times Weekend, 10-11 June 2017
Frank McDonald
“It’s a revelation, quite literally…Cutting-edge architects Heneghan Peng have deftly combined old and new in the National Gallery of Ireland’s stunning renovation…”
The Sunday Times, Culture, 11 June 2017
Stephen Best
“With its mesmerising mix of architectural styles and spaces, the National Gallery of Ireland (NGI) has some of Dublin’s most unexpected and compelling civic spaces. …The visitor experience is utterly changed, and the architecture is again in harmony with the art.”
Irish Independent, Review, 17 June 2017
Tracy Chevalier
“Of all the art in the world, Vermeer’s paintings are the ones I’d happily see over and over…placing Vermeers next to other Dutch paintings of the period and pointing out the similarities and differences...that is the great strength of this exhibition, making me want to fly to Ireland to see it.”
RTÉ R1 Arena, 16 June 2017
Declan Long
“The exhibition is done with such extraordinary insight…on The Astronomer and The Geographer…this is a once-in-a lifetime experience to see them together-they are really exceptional beautiful things.”