Another international move for Girl with a Pearl Earring, a masterpiece by Johannes Vermeer (Delft, 1632 - 1675) kept at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. The work will go to Japan, to the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka, next summer, between August and September 2026, during some work to be held at the Dutch museum, due to which the institution will have to close its doors to the public. Considered to be one of the most famous paintings in the world, the work is one of the main reasons why thousands of visitors come to the Mauritshuis each year and, because of this, it is only lent to other institutions in exceptional circumstances.
The opportunity provided by the museum’s closure therefore represents a not-so-frequent opportunity. The loan to Osaka was decided at the request of authorities in Japan, a country that contributes significantly to the Mauritshuis’ international tourism. The painting will be presented thanks to a collaboration with Asahi Shimbun, one of Japan’s leading media organizations and a partner of the museum for several years.
Martine Gosselink, general director of the Mauritshuis, emphasized the importance of the collaboration, "Asahi Shimbun is a highly valued partner, with whom we have collaborated since the major renovation of the museum between 2012 and 2014. Asahi Shimbun organizes several exhibitions each year with museums around the world. Every year we welcome thousands of Japanese tourists who love Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring . For the Mauritshuis, the Girl ’s trip to Japan represents a unique opportunity to share her with the Japanese public, perhaps for the last time."
The loan will also be instrumental in financially supporting the Mauritshuis’ renovations and management of the new building in Korte Vijverberg, acquired by the museum on Dec. 1, 2025. Among the most important projects related to this location will be the opening, scheduled for 2028, of a new education center. The museum is still seeking benefactors and business partners to support the educational center and related activities.
The Girl with a Pearl Earring is no stranger to international trips related to renovations. Between 2012 and 2014, during the Mauritshuis renovation, the painting embarked on a world tour, landing in Japan at the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum and in the city of Kobe, and then moving to the United States in the exhibition The Masters of the 17th Century: Dutch Painting from the Mauritshuis. A stop on that tour was also held in Italy, specifically in Bologna, in the halls of Palazzo Fava. In total, the traveling exhibition was visited by more than 2.2 million people and contributed significantly to the financing of the museum’s restoration work.
The Mauritshuis will be closed to the public from Aug. 24 to Sept. 20, 2026, a period during which the Girl with a Pearl Earring can be seen in the city of Osaka, a circumstance that will offer Japanese fans a rare opportunity to see the painting live in a cultural context completely different from its origin.
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| Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring on a trip to Japan. |
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