15 May 2008

The Mauritshuis

Today was our first full day in Delft, but we actually spent most of it in Den Haag (the Hague) visiting the Mauritshuis, the premier art museum in the Netherlands.

The Mauritshuis.

We took the tram to Den Haag, which is the governmental seat of the Netherlands, even though Amsterdam retains the official title of capitol.

Buildings adjoining the Mauritshuis

The Hague seems like a really interesting mix of historical and modern, and I wish we’d had a little more time to wander around the city.

Architecture in the Hague.

We had most of the morning to explore the museum which is home to some of Rembrandt’s most famous works, as well as the iconic Girl with the Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer. The museum also has multiple works by Hans Holbein, one of my personal favorites, as well as Rogier van der Weyden. I spent most of the morning wandering the museum, and lucked out by having the works by the Flemish primitives and the Girl with the Pearl Earring mostly to myself! I found Girl with the Pearl Earring even more breathtaking in person because it differs so much from the other works in the museum. The girl in the picture comes across as ethereal as she looks out at you in her bright garb and with her eponymous pearl from against a dark background.
After touring the museum, we were fortunate enough to be able to meet the conservators at the Mauritshuis and tour the conservation lab, a privilege which is almost never offered to the public. They’re currently working on two Rembrandts, both of which were out of their frames, and one of which had its varnish partially removed. Even though I’m not a huge fan of Rembrandt, it was pretty cool to get access to such a restricted part of the museum!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

So jealous that you are there! Your pictures are fabulous!

Hope Bruge is fabulous as well!!