Toespraak van minister Van Engelshoven bij de lancering van 'Meet Vermeer'

Toespraak | 04-12-2018

Good afternoon everyone,

775 million people in China have one.

Almost 390 million people in India have one.

There are 2.5 billion of them worldwide.

The smartphone.

You can curse it when your partner won’t put it down when you’re trying to share something.

Or when your child grabs it to play a game.

But for many people, the smartphone is a window on the world.

For people who have never been to a museum, and maybe never will.

For people who may have seen an image of an artwork in a magazine or on a poster,

but who only saw it and never really had a chance to look.

To experience the artwork in all its dimensions and depth.

Or perhaps to zoom in on a single detail.

Like the reflection of the collar in the pearl, or the milk pouring from the pitcher.

These people can now really see the artwork, not just an image.

And they can learn more about the artist and his work.

All two-point-five billion smartphone users can experience Vermeer’s work in this ‘Pocket Gallery’ right now.

They don’t have to go to a museum.

The art comes to them.

At a resolution that’s higher than can be seen with the naked eye,

it makes this art widely accessible.

I would like to briefly explain why I – as the Minister of Culture – find accessibility to be so important:

Art is about looking.

It teaches you that you can view the same thing from different perspectives, making you see other things.

It encourages you, in other words, to see things from others’ perspectives.

To learn about their perspectives.

It encourages the development of empathy.

And that is certainly something we need more of.

In my opinion, art goes beyond just the aesthetic experience.

It is that too, of course,

but art also has social significance, and this project plays a role in this regard as well.

Let me make myself clear: I do not think that everyone should now simply stay at home and gaze at the work of Vermeer on their smartphones.

And I doubt that this will be the case.

I think that this project will make people worldwide even more curious about the museum.

For once you have seen Vermeer’s works in high resolution, you’ll be even more eager to see them in person.

So I think that this project is an enormous boost for the Mauritshuis, for the city of The Hague and for the Netherlands as a destination for art-lovers from around the world.

I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who made this possible.

In closing, it is my great pleasure to declare the Meet Vermeer-project open!