Blockbuster exhibitions like the Rijkmuseum’s Vermeer attracted record visitor numbers post-pandemic. But how are others faring? Avedis Hadjian has the details.
A year after the European Union declared the COVID-19 emergency phase over, major European museums are experiencing a surge in visitors as art enthusiasts flock to exhibitions. The just-closed Vermeer exhibition at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum attracted a record-breaking 650,000 visitors, perhaps an accurate gauge of pent-up demand after two years of lockdowns and travel restrictions. But while the show made global headlines, the Rijksmuseum was far from the only European institution to set records for attendance and special exhibitions in recent months.
In 2019, the year preceding the pandemic, the Amsterdam museum welcomed 2.7 million visitors. It fell dramatically to 675,000 in 2020, declining further to 625,000 the following year. In 2022, it rose by more than 180% to 1.7 million — still a million visitors short of its pre-pandemic highs.
“The Rijksmuseum was well aware of the popularity of Vermeer,” spokesperson Casper van der Kruit told Hyperallergic. “For the Rijksmuseum, it was never about the numbers.” The public was assigned turns with start times to offer them a high-quality experience, and yet Vermeer was still the most visited exhibition in the museum’s history — even leading to a booming resale market for coveted sold-out tickets...Keep reading on Hyperallergic.
A year after the European Union declared the COVID-19 emergency phase over, major European museums are experiencing a surge in visitors as art enthusiasts flock to exhibitions. The just-closed Vermeer exhibition at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum attracted a record-breaking 650,000 visitors, perhaps an accurate gauge of pent-up demand after two years of lockdowns and travel restrictions. But while the show made global headlines, the Rijksmuseum was far from the only European institution to set records for attendance and special exhibitions in recent months.
In 2019, the year preceding the pandemic, the Amsterdam museum welcomed 2.7 million visitors. It fell dramatically to 675,000 in 2020, declining further to 625,000 the following year. In 2022, it rose by more than 180% to 1.7 million — still a million visitors short of its pre-pandemic highs.
“The Rijksmuseum was well aware of the popularity of Vermeer,” spokesperson Casper van der Kruit told Hyperallergic. “For the Rijksmuseum, it was never about the numbers.” The public was assigned turns with start times to offer them a high-quality experience, and yet Vermeer was still the most visited exhibition in the museum’s history — even leading to a booming resale market for coveted sold-out tickets...Keep reading on Hyperallergic.