The Girl With the Blue Stone

A girl hurries through the town of Delft. She’s carrying little packages she needs to deliver to various addresses: letters, a guitar string… and a piece of blue stone. Lapis lazuli it’s called. It’s for the master painter Johannes Vermeer. He uses it to make blue paint: ultramarine. That is incredibly expensive, even more expensive than gold. She hesitates for a moment. Her brothers and sisters are hungry. Maybe she could sell it…? But once she knocks on Mr. Vermeer’s door, he makes a special request.

In the spring of 2023, a large exhibition dedicated to the 17th-century painter Johannes Vermeer will open in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. This once-in-a-lifetime exhibition will be the biggest Vermeer exhibition ever and will feature loans from all over the world. At the same time, the Museum Prinsenhof Delft will host an ambitious exhibition detailing Vermeer’s life, network and his connection to the city of Delft.