Want To See The Sold-Out Vermeer Exhibition? You’ll Have To Shell Out Thousands

When ticket sales began on February 10, it wasn’t surprising that entry to the Johannes Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, was sold out in mere days. However, eager visitors could now be forced to fork out thousands to see the masterpieces.

According to Hyperallergic, some of the highly sought-after tickets have reappeared on secondary markets such as eBay, where scalpers are pricing them for hundreds or even thousands of dollars per piece.

The retrospective, which is the largest-ever display of the famed artist’s work, will feature 28 of his 37 known paintings from around the world—which the museum said was a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity” to view iconic artworks by the Dutch Golden Age painter.

As per the publication, art enthusiasts are going all out just to secure a ticket to the show, with a pair of e-tickets selling for a whopping US$2,724 after an intense battle of 44 bids, which first began from a much lower price of US$100.

In addition, a second pair of entry tickets fetched £1,270 (US$1,550) while another went for €1,022 (US$1,100). The regular admission fee for an adult to the museum typically costs just US$24.

A spokesperson for the Rijksmuseum said that the institution did not endorse re-selling of its tickets, which should only be purchased via the museum’s official website and authorized partners. It said it could not guarantee the validity of second-hand tickets.

Why doesn’t the museum make the exhibition more accessible? Well, as per a statement last month, the organization said it had limited the number of tickets on purpose “to ensure that the public can have a pleasant visit to the exhibition.”

“We are working hard to ensure more people have the opportunity to see the exhibition,” it said, though there has yet to be an update on if more tickets will be available for purchase in the near future.

At the moment there are no more tickets available for Vermeer. To ensure that the public can have a pleasant visit to the exhibition, the number of available tickets is limited. We are working hard to ensure more people have the opportunity to see the exhibition. pic.twitter.com/Lc3COHe9CP

— Rijksmuseum (@rijksmuseum) February 12, 2023

[via Hyperallergic and InsideHook, images via various sources]