28 Vermeers
What does the Rijksmuseum’s landmark Vermeer exhibition tell us about museums, copyright and digital collections today?
Vermeer is a major exhibition of the artist’s work at the Rijksmuseum that brings Vermeers from around the world to Amsterdam. A total of twenty eight works, from fourteen institutions, feature in the exhibition. These are helpfully itemised on the Rijksmuseum’s website, alongside a digital display with images of every painting in the show.
For students of copyright, art history and digital cultural heritage, Vermeer is an excellent opportunity to evaluate the exhibited works through the lens of open access. Let’s take a look.
Which Vermeers are in the exhibition? Which institutions do they come from?
Girl Interrupted at Her Music, c. 1659–61 Frick Collection, U.S.A.
Mistress and Maid, c. 1665–67, Frick Collection, U.S.A.
Officer and Laughing Girl, 1657–58, Frick Collection, U.S.A.
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, 1657–58, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Germany
The Procuress, 1656, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Germany
Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, c. 1670‐72, Leiden Collection, U.S.A.
Diana and her Nymphs, 1655–56, Mauritshuis, Netherlands
Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1664–67, Mauritshuis, Netherlands
View of Delft, 1660–61, Mauritshuis, Netherlands
Allegory of the Catholic Faith, 1670–74, Metropolitan Museum of Art, U.S.A.
Young Woman with a Lute, 1662–64, Metropolitan Museum of Art, U.S.A.
The Lacemaker, 1666–68, Musée du Louvre, France
Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, 1654–55, National Galleries of Scotland, United Kingdom
A Lady Writing, 1664–67, National Gallery of Art, Washington, U.S.A.
Girl with a Flute, 1664–67, National Gallery of Art, Washington, U.S.A.
Girl with the Red Hat, 1664–67, National Gallery of Art, Washington, U.S.A.
Woman Holding a Balance, c. 1662–64, National Gallery of Art, Washington, U.S.A.
Woman Writing a Letter with her Maid, 1670–72, National Gallery of Ireland
A Young Woman seated at a Virginal, c. 1670–72, National Gallery, London, United Kingdom
A Young Woman standing at a Virginal, 1670–72, National Gallery, London United Kingdom
Saint Praxedis, 1655, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo, Japan
The Love Letter, 1669–70, Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
The Milkmaid, 1658–59, Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
View of Houses in Delft, 1658–59, Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
Woman Reading a Letter, 1662–64, Rijksmuseum, Netherlands
The Glass of Wine, c. 1659–61, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany
Woman with a Pearl Necklace, c. 1662–64, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Germany
The Geographer, 1669, Städel Museum, Germany
Which institutions claim copyright in digital reproductions of their Vermeers? Which institutions don’t, or waive copyright? Which rights statements and licences do they apply?
Girl Interrupted at Her Music, c. 1659–61 Frick Collection. Yes, In copyright.
Mistress and Maid, c. 1665–67, Frick Collection. Yes, In copyright.
Officer and Laughing Girl, 1657–58, Frick Collection. Yes, In copyright.
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window, 1657–58, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. Yes, In copyright.
The Procuress, 1656, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. Yes, In copyright.
Young Woman Seated at a Virginal, c. 1670‐72, Leiden Collection. Yes, CC BY-NC.
Diana and her Nymphs, 1655–56, Mauritshuis. No, Public Domain.
Girl with a Pearl Earring, 1664–67, Mauritshuis, Netherlands. No, Public Domain.
View of Delft, 1660–61, Mauritshuis, Netherlands. No, Public Domain.
Allegory of the Catholic Faith, 1670–74, Metropolitan Museum of Art. No, CC0.
Young Woman with a Lute, 1662–64, Metropolitan Museum of Art. No, CC0.
The Lacemaker, 1666–68, Musée du Louvre. Yes, in copyright.
Christ in the House of Mary and Martha, 1654–55, National Galleries of Scotland. Yes, CC BY-NC.
A Lady Writing, 1664–67, National Gallery of Art, Washington. No, CC0.
Girl with a Flute, 1664–67, National Gallery of Art, Washington. No, CC0.
Girl with the Red Hat, 1664–67, National Gallery of Art, Washington. No, CC0.
Woman Holding a Balance, c. 1662–64, National Gallery of Art, Washington. No, CC0.
Woman Writing a Letter with her Maid, 1670–72, National Gallery of Ireland. Yes, in copyright.
A Young Woman seated at a Virginal, c. 1670–72, National Gallery, London. Yes, CC BY-NC-ND.
A Young Woman standing at a Virginal, 1670–72, National Gallery, London. Yes, CC BY-NC-ND.
Saint Praxedis, 1655, National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo. Yes, in copyright.
The Love Letter, 1669–70, Rijksmuseum. No, CC0.
The Milkmaid, 1658–59, Rijksmuseum. No, CC0.
View of Houses in Delft, 1658–59, Rijksmuseum. No, CC0.
Woman Reading a Letter, 1662–64, Rijksmuseum. No, CC0.
The Glass of Wine, c. 1659–61, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Yes, CC BY-NC-SA.
Woman with a Pearl Necklace, c. 1662–64, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Yes, CC BY-NC-SA.
The Geographer, 1669, Städel Museum. No, Public Domain Mark.
Let’s see a visualisation of the Vermeer rights statements and licences
Which institutions participating in Vermeer have open access policies? Which ones don’t?
Open access: Mauritshuis; Metropolitan Museum of Art; National Gallery of Art, Washington; Rijksmuseum; Städel Museum.
Closed access: Frick Collection; Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister; Leiden Collection; Musée du Louvre; National Gallery, London; National Gallery of Ireland; National Galleries of Scotland; National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo; Staatliche Museen zu Berlin.
In all of the national jurisdictions in which the museums lending to Vermeer are based, copyright protection lasts for 70 years after the death of the creator. Johannes Vermeer died on 15 December 1675 — more than 347 years ago — yet copyright is claimed in digital reproductions of his work by the majority of the institutions involved in the Vermeer exhibition.
Despite the increasing international harmonisation and clarification of the relevant copyright law, and the growth in open access practice (also known as Open GLAM) in the cultural sector, many museums persist in restricting access to images of public domain works by using questionable copyright claims. In this respect, Vermeer is a representative sample of the wider picture today.
To see the raw data upon which this article is based, visit this Google Sheet.
