Mauritshuis, The Hague

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On the second floor of this rather small museum is a room which contains two of the most beautiful paintings in the world.
On one of the walls hangs the "Het meisje met de parel - Girl with the pearl earring" (1666) on the opposite wall the "View of Delft" both by Johannes Vermeer.
If you stand in the middle of this small room you have just to turn around to go from one marvel, from one wonder of the world of art to another.

When I visited this museum I happened to be alone in the Vermeer room.

A Dutch art critic wrote: "Why is the Girl with the pearl earring Vermeer’s best-loved painting? It must have something to do with the fact that the girl looks over her shoulder, as though hoping to see who is standing behind her. This draws the viewer into the picture, suggesting that he is the one who has made the girl turn her head."

That's what I felt. A magic moment, but who is she? Nobody knows.

The "View of Delft" is the most renowned townscape of 17th-century Dutch art of the "Gouden Eeuw". It is the only townscape of Vermeer (with the exception of the "Little street" which is centred on a detail of a town). A cloudy sky so typical of the Low Lands (remember Jacques Brel and his song "Le Plat Pays"), the reflections in the water, the quietness. A look on Delft four centuries ago.

Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10 - 17 h; Sunday 11 - 17 h. Closed: Monday.
Price: 10,50 or 12 €; Free 18 yr.

In the same room as the two famous Vermeer I discovered a small painting made by Carel Fabritius "The goldfinch" (het puttertje or distelvink) birds which were popular house pets. The painting is conceived as a trompe-l'oeil to hang high on the wall. Viewers could think that a real bird was there.
From Fabritius (a pupil of Rembrandt) only 15 works are known. He died tragically young in the explosion of the Delft powder magazine (1654) which destroyed two hundred houses of the city of Delft and probably a large part of his works.

Open: Tuesday - Saturday 10 - 17 h; Sunday 11 - 17 h. Closed: Monday.
Price: 10,50 or 12 €; Free 18 yr.

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The Mauritshuis is one of the first and most beautiful examples of the Dutch classicist baroque, characterised by pilasters which run the full length of the facade and by frontons with various carvings. The Mauritshuis was built for Johan Maurits van Nassau, Governor of Dutch-Brasil. After a fire in 1704 the Mauritshuis was refurbished and in 1822 it became the 'Royal Cabinet of Paintings'. During extensive restoration work carried out between 1982 and 1987 a cellar was constructed under the forecourt, which houses the library and the storerooms. Artist Ger Lataster painted modern paintings on the ceiling of the upper hall. The colours he used are reminiscent of 18th-century ceiling paintings.

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Around 1640, Count Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen had a palace built for himself not far from the Hofvijver, the lake beside the Binnenhof. Since 1822, the Mauritshuis has been home to the Royal Picture Gallery, one of the most famous art collections in the world, with many works by Johannes Vermeer.

Opening times:
Tuesday to Saturday: 10am to 5pm
Sundays and holidays: 11am to 5pm

Admission:
Adults: ? 9,50
Children up to 18: free

In the centre of The Hague, directly adjacent to the government buildings on the Hofvijver, the mansion of Johan Maurits, arose in about 1640. The strictly classical building was designed and built by Jacob van Campen and Pieter Post, the two most important Dutch architects of their time. Since 1822, the intimate `Mauritshuis' has housed the Royal Cabinet of Paintings, one of the most famous collections in the world.
The core of the collection consists of masterpieces from the Dutch Golden Age, including paintings by Vermeer, Rembrandt, Steen and Frans Hals. But there is much more to see.

About the Mauritshuis:
"Prince Johan Maurits was at home here; Vermeer, Rembrandt and Potter found a home here, and we would like you to feel at home here too."
This is so true ...

You'll find a palace with the name of Mauritshuis, and a distinguished gallery of royal pictures of Holland. The Mauritshuis got world-famous for it, especially the Dutch paintings from the Golden Age (17th century). See Rembrandt's Anatomic Lesson, The Bull by Potter, Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring.

See also the 2 fabulous paintings of Peter Paul Rubens; 2 portraits of a woman and a man (1630). I loved it, and just enjoyed the special Hans Holbein Exhibition, included the special VERMEER Exhibition starting this 2005 summer ...

I LOVE ART!

The Mauritshuis is the former palace of prince Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen, a cousin of stadtholders Maurits and Frederik Hendrik and governor of the colonies in Brasil. It dates from 1637 and was designed by Jacob van Campen with the aid of Pieter Post. It's now a museum housing the Royal Cabinet of Paintings, a collection of Dutch and Flemish art art from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century, with works by Rembrandt, Rubens, Memling and Vermeer.

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The independent middle and upper class Dutch entrepreneurs (almost all Protestant) became the first large-scale secular art collectors. The imaginative artists responded to their tastes. There was no interest in GrecoRoman mythology or Catholic Saints and Angels and only slight interest in Bible stories. Having learned organization and developed style in their training, the artists became masters of meticulous set design (Vermeer and others may have used a camera lucida).They produced still-lifes (and flowers); landscapes and cityscapes (or buildings and churches); outdoor and indoor activities. Many of the pictures had hidden or overt references to moralistic homilies or popular sayings and contained realistic symbols with meanings (certain birds,oysters,timepieces, etc.). And of course there were lots of portraits including families and other groups. All were done in a realistic manner with meticulous approach to minute details and a show of opulence and importance (ego). One is allowed to photograph at will (no flash of course). Many paintings are densely shellacked or under glass and the reflections are numerous. (This also impairs simple viewing). These artists are the most admired

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Many artists of talent emerged during the 17C in the major Dutch cities (but first in Haarlem). They apprenticed properly with resident masters and some went to Italy to broaden their skills and insights. They usually stayed in their home town or nearby big city, but a few gravitated to Amsterdam. Judith Leyster, one of the 2 earliest known female artists anywhere, painted in Haarlem with her painter husband (Molenaar) and where her mentor resided(Hals), as did Ruisdael, the Ostades and Post. Vermeer stayed in Delft, while Amsterdam claimed Potter, Hobbema, de Heem plus Rembrandt and most of his followers. The wanderer was Steen (mostly in Leyden where he maintained a bar cum microbrewey). Saenredam (the scholarly painter of bare church walls) and de Hooch (whose style often looks like Vermeer) divided time between Amsterdam and Leyden. Avercamp is a generation earlier and has a Bruegelesque style that is most alluring.

Originally the residence of Prins Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen (Prince John Maurice of Nassau), this 17th century palace is now the Mauritshuis museum. Although very small, the quality of the paintings by old Dutch masters (Rembrant, Vermeer, Potter) is high.