It was clear from the start that the Johannes Vermeer Retrospective at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam was to be a resounding success. And indeed the show sell a few days after its opening on February 10. This sparked a hot resale market on eBay, where tickets to the show sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars. As tickets remain unavailable for several weeks after the show opens, markups continue to spiral out of control.
Simply titled Vermeer, this is the largest exhibition of the Dutch Golden Age master, bringing together 28 of his 37 known paintings through loans from various institutions. The Rijksmuseum presented the exhibition as a “unique opportunity” to see so many of the artist’s works in one place.
This marketing strategy certainly worked. Just yesterday, March 23, a pair of e-tickets for the exhibition sold on eBay for a staggering $2,724 after 44 bids, seven bidders upped the price from the relatively reasonable opening bid of $100. The second most expensive pair of tickets sold for £1,270 (~$1,550). The third pair went for €1,022 (~$1,100). These were mainly tickets for April and May. Gone are the days when you could buy tickets to the show for only around $300 – or $24, the standard museum admission price for an adult over 18.
When asked if the museum was aware of the wild online speculation, a spokesperson for the Rijksmuseum said Hyperallergic: “Tickets for the Rijksmuseum Vermeer exhibition can only be purchased through the Rijksmuseum website and authorized partners such as Get Your Guide and Priotickets. The Rijksmuseum does not endorse the resale of tickets and cannot guarantee the validity tickets purchased outside official channels. Hyperallergic could not independently verify the authenticity of tickets sold on eBay and contacted the online marketplace for comment.
In a month of February statementthe museum said it has limited the number of tickets “to ensure the public has an enjoyable visit to the exhibit.”
“We are working hard to ensure that more people have the opportunity to see the exhibit,” the statement said.
art critic and Hyperallergic donor David Carrier, who returned from Amsterdam this week, was lucky enough to secure tickets for the show.
“It was quite an event,” he said. “The living room was crowded but with patience, all the works could be seen. This is why I find this speculation appalling.
Carrier was able to see the show three times after being told he could get unlimited admission any time of the year if he purchased a “friends of the Rijksmuseum“ticket for €50 (~$54) or €75 (~$80) for two people. This option is no longer available, however, according to the museum’s website.
“At the airport, I told Border Security that I was visiting Amsterdam to see the Vermeer show, and the staff member said, ‘But it’s already sold out,'” Carrier recounted.
“It’s hard to explain Vermeer’s mystique, but one thing is certain: no other Golden Age painter could produce such an audience, not even Rembrandt,” Carrier said.
