'Girl with a Pearl Earring' to be shown in Japan, in rare trip abroad

The Hague: Johannes Vermeer s painting Girl with a Pearl Earring will be displayed in Japan later this year, the Dutch Mauritshuis museum said Thurs...

The Hague: Johannes Vermeer's painting "Girl with a Pearl Earring" will be displayed in Japan later this year, the Dutch Mauritshuis museum said Thursday, a rare outing abroad for one of the world's most famous artworks.

The 17th century masterpiece will be loaned to the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka in August and September while its home museum in The Hague is closed for renovations.

"Girl with a Pearl Earring is one of the most famous paintings in the world... It is therefore loaned to other institutions only in highly exceptional circumstances," said the Mauritshuis.

The last time the portrait was out on loan was in 2023 for a less exotic trip to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The painting went on a world tour in 2012-2014 while major building work was ongoing at the Mauritshuis. Some 2.2 million people visited that exhibition, according to the museum.