Queen Beatrix and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev opened the Hermitage Amsterdam in 2009. The first exhibition, At the Russian Court – Palace and Protocol in the 19th Century, attracted 705 thousand visitors in seven months. A series of blockbusters would follow with treasures from St Petersburg.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Hermitage Amsterdam severed ties with Saint Petersburg. A new exhibition of borrowed Russian art treasures was cancelled. A new plan must be drawn up in a few months for a restart of the museum. Until then, there will be ‘focus exhibitions’ under the name Dutch Heritage Amsterdam. The Rijksmuseum lends The Milkmaid from Friday 1 April to Sunday 15 May.
generous gesture
“This is a fantastic and incredibly generous gesture,” said Annabelle Birnie, director of Hermitage Amsterdam. ‘The doors of our wing are opening again. This was the helping hand we needed. I hereby also appeal to other colleagues to follow the wonderful initiative of the Rijksmuseum. Thanks to the Museum Association, we have already received great proposals to surprise the public with. We want to make it a special series.’
More exhibitions can be seen in the large building on the Amstel. The Outsider Art Museum has also been located in the Hermitage since 2016. The Amsterdam Museum, closed at its own location due to renovation, is showing the Panorama Amsterdam exhibition.