An Amsterdam museum that was established to display pictures belonging to the Hermitage Museum in Russia is getting a helping hand from the Rijksmuseum now that it has cut ties with Russia over the Ukraine invasion.
Vermeer’s painting The Milkmaid, very rarely lent for exhibitions, has been moved to the museum that is now calling itself Dutch Heritage Amsterdam. Taco Dibbits, Rijksmuseum director told press that “Given the acute situation after the break with Russia, it seems to us self-evident that we would support our fellow museum. This is why we have decided to lend it one of the best pieces in the Rijksmuseum, Vermeer’s The Milkmaid,” which is one of only 35 known works by the 17th century painter.
The Hermitage was created in a former old-age home as an outpost of Russia’s best-known and largest museum, and drew on the Russian collection for its exhibitions. It opened in 2009. The museum is also providing a temporary home for the city’s history museum, the Amsterdam Museum, while its home is being renovated.
