They couldn’t have made him happier. Mr. Punt looks in awe at the four replica paintings by Vermeer that are temporarily hanging in the Novawhere nursing home in Purmerend. It is an initiative of the Rijksmuseum, which brings a piece of the Hall of Fame to people who find it difficult to come to Amsterdam: “We want to create that wow effect.”
“It’s like being in her kitchen.” Mr Punt – not many people in the nursing home know or use his first name – pushes his wheelchair a little closer to the Milkmaid. “When you see that light from the window on her face. It’s so beautiful and artful.”
Cathelijne Denekamp of the Rijksmuseum gives him a private tour of the paintings for the occasion. She is an accessibility manager and can see exactly why they are doing this before her very eyes. “Three years ago we started ‘Nachtwacht on tour'”, she says. “Then it was corona time and people really couldn’t get into the nursing home. We still do that, you can still call for that if you want.”
The reactions of residents touch her. “For example, there is a story of a lady who never said anything, she was usually in her room. When the Night Watch was with them in the nursing home, she came down. She kept looking at it. Suddenly she said: ‘Rembrandt’. Everyone was completely amazed, it was a really emotional moment.”
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Lisette Muts of the nursing home had been wanting to bring the Rijksmuseum to this nursing home for some time. “But the Night Watch was a bit too high for this building at 4.5 meters. Then they said: ‘Just wait, we’ll come up with something new in 2023. We’ll keep you in mind.'” And lo and behold: just another piece of Hall of Fame with four lifelike Vermeers in the dining room. “We are really proud.”