For Vermeer fanatics like me, 2023 will be a year when dreams come true | Simon Jenkins

An exhibition in Amsterdam will gather most of his masterpieces in one place – with a notable English exception

One night, a girl was stolen from her home on Hampstead Heath. A ransom was demanded but no reward offered. Three months later she was found in St Bartholomew’s churchyard in Smithfield. She was returned home to an attic at Kenwood House, where I was then allowed to visit her. She was Vermeer’s painting The Guitar Player, and she had long fascinated me.

For Vermeer obsessives, next year ...