The works of Vermeer: from underrated to priceless
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The works of Vermeer: from underrated to priceless

Today, Johannes Vermeer is one of the most celebrated artists of all time. Exhibitions of his work attract large numbers of admirers and his paintings are considered priceless national treasures. However, this has not always been the case. In this blog post, we take you through the story behind the increase in value of Johannes Vermeer's works.

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The life story of Johannes Vermeer is one of relative obscurity and modest prices, followed by a sensational rediscovery that changed the value of his oeuvre forever.

The 17th century: a painting for a year's income

During his lifetime, Vermeer was a respected painter in Delft, but he was certainly no superstar. He sold his work mainly to a small circle of local patrons, such as the baker Hendrick van Buyten. The prices of his paintings were considerable for that time, but paled in comparison to the prices of, for example, a Rembrandt.

  • In 1663, the French ambassador Balthasar de Monconys visited Delft and saw a Vermeer offered for sale for 600 guilders. He considered this too expensive for a painting with only one figure. By way of comparison, this amount was roughly equivalent to the annual income of a well-paid craftsman. Today, that would amount to between €50,000 and €70,000.
  • After his death in 1675, Vermeer left his wife and eleven children with considerable debt. The sale of his estate after his death showed that, although his paintings were appreciated, the prices were not sufficient to ensure his family's prosperity.

Vermeer's fame faded after his death. He became a footnote in art history and many of his works were attributed to other, more famous painters.

The 19th Century: the rediscovery and the early years of price increases

Today, Johannes Vermeer is one of the most celebrated artists of all time. Exhibitions of his work attract large numbers of admirers and his paintings are considered priceless national treasures. However, this has not always been the case. In this blog post, we take you through the story behind the increase in value of Johannes Vermeer's works.The radical change in Vermeer's status only began in the 19th century, thanks to the French art critic Théophile Thoré-Bürger. His tireless research and fascination with the Dutch master brought Johannes Vermeer's works back into the spotlight. Thoré-Bürger visited the Mauritshuis in 1842 to see the collection's masterpiece, Paulus Potter's The Bull. However, his attention was also drawn to View of Delft, by Johannes Vermeer, an artist unknown to him at the time. What followed was a systematic search by Théophile Thoré-Bürger for Vermeer's other works. His 1866 publication entitled “Van der Meer de Delft” (About Vermeer from Delft) was published in three consecutive issues of the French journal “Gazette des Beaux-Arts”. With this trilogy, Thoré-Bürger rescued Johannes Vermeer from obscurity and sparked a “Vermeer craze” that turned the art world upside down. 

This led to a spectacular increase in value, although prices were still modest compared to today.

  • An iconic example is the purchase of Girl with a Pearl Earring: in 1881, the painting was sold at an auction in The Hague. The seller was unknown and the work was offered under an unknown or incorrect name. Two neighbours, Victor de Stuers (a civil servant for the Arts, a champion for the preservation of Dutch heritage) and Arnoldus Andries des Tombe (a retired officer and art collector), recognised the work as a possible Vermeer. The painting was in a severely neglected state. To keep the price low and prevent them from bidding against each other, De Stuers and Des Tombe agreed that only Des Tombe would bid. The painting was sold at auction for the bargain price of 2 guilders and 30 cents. After the purchase, Des Tombe had the painting cleaned and restored, revealing Vermeer's signature (IVMeer). Des Tombe kept the painting until his death. When he died in 1902, he bequeathed the painting to the Mauritshuis in The Hague, where it has been part of the collection since 1903 and has become a world-famous masterpiece.
  • In 1885, the painting “Woman Reading a Letter in Blue” became the first Vermeer to be acquired by the Rijksmuseum. The painting is owned by the Municipality of Amsterdam and has been on loan since 1885 as part of the bequest of the wealthy Amsterdam banker Adriaan van der Hoop.
  • The work “The Love Letter” has been in the possession of the Rijksmuseum since 1893. It was purchased at auction in March 1892 by the Rembrandt Society for 41,000 guilders. The painting was purchased from the heirs of the Messchert van Vollenhoven-van Lennep family. To avoid a sky-high price at auction, the Rembrandt Association negotiated secretly in advance with the heirs/owner of the collection. They purchased the work, along with three other important paintings, privately from the owner.
  • In 1908, “The Milkmaid” was purchased. The purchase was financed by the Rembrandt Association with financial support from the Dutch State. The painting came from a collection of 39 works belonging to the Six family, for which 750,000 guilders was paid. “The Milkmaid” was valued at 400,000 guilders.
  • In July 1921, “The Little Street” was purchased for 625,000 guilders by oil magnate Henri Detering. He bought the painting privately from Jonkheer Jan Six after the asking price was not met at an auction in April of that year. Henri Detering then donated it to the Dutch State for the Rijksmuseum.

Today: priceless and unattainable

The upward trend that began in the 19th century has continued to this day. Most of Vermeer's only 35 known works are in the collections of top museums around the world and will never again be available on the open market.

  • “Seated woman at the virginal” was sold in 2004 for €24.3 million. The sellers were the heirs of Belgian baron Frédéric Rolin (who had bought the painting in 1960). The sale was a historic event, as it was the only Vermeer painting still in private ownership at the time. The buyer was American property developer, entrepreneur and art collector Stephen Alan Wynn from Las Vegas. He sold the work on to another American collector, Thomas S. Kaplan, in 2008. It is now part of The Leiden Collection (Thomas S. Kaplan's private collection) and is still the only Vermeer in private hands.
  • One of the last Vermeers to be auctioned was “Saint Praxedis” in 2014, which sold for €7.8 million. The sale was significant because it was the first time the painting had been offered at auction as an (early) Vermeer after decades of debate about its authenticity. The authenticity of this painting influenced the price. The sellers of the painting were the heirs of art collector Barbara Piasecka Johnson. The buyer was an anonymous Asian collector (later revealed to be Kufu Company Inc.). The painting has since been in Japan, on long-term loan to the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo.
  • There is no market for the absolute masterpieces, such as The Milkmaid or Girl with a Pearl Earring. Their value is simply priceless. Experts estimate the value of such paintings at hundreds of millions of dollars, should they ever be auctioned.

The enormous increase in Vermeer's value is the result of a combination of an extremely small oeuvre (scarcity), his unique and masterful technique, and his rediscovery by a visionary art critic. Vermeer's story is proof of how the reputation and value of art can be rewritten over time and how an artist, once appreciated only by a small circle, can become one of the most beloved figures in art history.