Vermeer's 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' returns home to The Hague after 5 weeks in Japan

Johannes Vermeer’s painting 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' was rehung Monday morning at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. The portrait has spent five weeks in Japan, where it was part of an exhibition in Osaka of works from the The Hague Museum.

To mark the return of the famous painting, museum director Martine Gosselink, together with The Hague Mayor Jan van Zanen, signed an official certificate of registration. In it, the girl was named the city’s oldest resident.

“After all, she has lived here since the 19th century,” the museum spokesperson told ANP. She was painted by Vermeer some time around 1666.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, together with several other paintings from Mauritshuis, formed a small exhibition at the Nakanoshima Museum of Art in Osaka. Princess Aiko, daughter of Japanese Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, opened the exhibition in August.