HONG KONG — The Hong Kong Palace Museum has expanded its global network through a landmark partnership with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, bringing 100 works by Dutch masters to Hong Kong in a marquee exhibition next year.
Hong Kong Palace Museum Director Louis Ng and Rijksmuseum Director Taco Dibbits signed the memorandum of understanding for the strategic partnership at the Rijksmuseum on Oct 21, 2026.
The major exhibition planned next year will bring about 100 17th-century Dutch masterpieces to Hong Kong, including Johannes Vermeer’s The Love Letter, which will be shown in Hong Kong and the region for the first time. Only about 35 of Vermeer’s paintings are known to exist.
The exhibition will also feature the largest number of works by Rembrandt van Rijn ever presented in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, along with historical artifacts representing global trade.
Drawn from the Rijksmuseum’s holdings, the exhibition will also include ship models, ceramics, metalwork, textiles, prints and drawings, enhanced by multimedia installations.
It will illustrate the artistic, trade and diplomatic exchanges between the Netherlands and China.
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Beyond the exhibition, the two museums will deepen their long-term collaboration through joint research and educational initiatives.
Ng said that, since opening in 2022, the Hong Kong Palace Museum has forged strategic partnerships with 20 world-class institutions globally, reinforcing Hong Kong’s role as an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange.
“By bringing the world’s greatest artistic treasures into conversation with the finest Chinese heritage, we continue to reinforce Hong Kong’s role as an East-meets-West center for international cultural exchange,” he said.
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Dibbits said he was delighted by the cultural exchange, adding that it was wonderful for the Hong Kong Palace Museum to showcase great Dutch art and allow the public in Hong Kong to familiarize themselves with Dutch history.
