The Hague offers a wealth of impressive art. Be inspired by the unique Hague museums and wonderful exhibits in the many galleries. Discover the largest painting in the Netherlands: Panorama Mesdag. Admire the exquisite works of Rembrandt, Vermeer and Mondrian at the Mauritshuis and Gemeentemuseum.
Click on the video below for a short introduction to the city of The Hague and its cultural pearls:
The art museum Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (English: Municipal Museum), built 1931–1935, was designed by the Dutch architect H.P. Berlage. It is renowned for its large Mondrian collection, the largest in the world. His last work, Victory Boogie-Woogie, is on display here.
The museum’s collection of modern art includes works by international artists (Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso, Egon Schiele, Frank Stella, Henri Le Fauconnier and many others) and Dutch artists (Charlotte Dumas, Pyke Koch, Piet Mondriaan, Charley Toorop, Jan Toorop, Hans Wilschut and many others).
The museum has a collection of 19th and 20th century prints, posters and drawings, containing around 50,000 items. It comprises works by Dutch artists such as Co Westerik and Jan Toorop, as well as works by Rodolphe Bresdin, Ingres, Paul Klee, Toulouse-Lautrec, Odilon Redon and others. A selection is on view in the print room.
The collection of fashion items, accessories, jewellery, drawings and prints includes historical items as well as modern ones by designers such as Gabrielle Chanel, Frank Govers and Yoshiki Hishinuma. For reasons of conservation items are only shown at temporary exhibitions.
The music collection includes a large collection of musical instruments and a music library, with an emphasis on European music.
The art museum Mauritshuis (English: Maurice House) in The Hague houses the Royal Cabinet of Paintings which consists of 841 objects, mostly Dutch Golden Age paintings. The collection of paintings of stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange was presented to the Dutch state by his son, King William I. This collection formed the basis of the Royal Cabinet of Paintings of around 200 paintings.
The collection is currently called the Royal Picture Gallery, containing works by Johannes Vermeer (e.g. Girl with a Pearl Earring), Rembrandt van Rijn (e.g. The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp), Pieter Brueghel, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter, Frans Hals, Hans Holbein the Younger, Carel Fabritius (e.g. The Goldfinch) and others. Originally, the 17th century building was the residence of count John Maurice of Nassau. It is now the property of the government of the Netherlands and is listed in the top 100 Dutch heritage sites.
Panorama Mesdag in The Hague is the largest circular canvas in Europe. Look 360º around you and experience the magical optical illusion created by this panorama of Scheveningen from 1881 in Museum Panorama Mesdag. The view is never the same; the incidence of light is more than magnificent and changes from moment to moment. The vista of the sea, dunes and old fishermen’s village Scheveningen was painted by H.W. Mesdag. Panorama Mesdag is a unique cultural historical monument.
The building that incorporates this panorama was constructed specially for the painting. In the centre of the building, an artificial dune has been created on a roundabout. From a viewpoint above the dune, visitors will see the same panorama as if they were standing on the Seinpost dune levelled off in 1881, as the canvas hung around it shows an impressively painted beach and seaside scene.
The Louwman Museum is a museum for historic cars, coaches, and motorcycles in The Hague. The collection of over two hundred cars has been assembled since 1934 by two generations of the Louwman family. It is the oldest private collection of automobiles in the world open to the public.
The collection is internationally oriented and consists of over 230 automobiles. The museum has the largest collection of cars in the world from 1910 or older. The museum displays a large collection of the current remaining 15 classic cars of the Dutch brand Spyker and the only remaining Eysink (a car-brand from Amersfoort). From post-World War II the museum features a car of Winston Churchill, the Aston Martin DB5 used in the James Bond movie Goldfinger, and a Cadillac of Elvis Presley.
Escher in Het Paleis (English: Escher in The Palace) is a permanent exhibition dedicated to the world-famous artist M.C. Escher, whose art startled millions of people all over the world. The collection is housed in the former Winter Palace of Queen Mother Emma of the Netherlands. It is the only public building in The Hague where the original royal ambience of a palace has been maintained. With over 150 prints you can always see the best known works and a changing selection of graphic work and tesselations from the complete works of Maurits C. Escher (1898-1972).
The art of Escher instills a sense of bewilderment and wonder, and fascinates young and old alike with his magical world. The exhibition includes famous ‘impossible’ prints such as “Day and Night”, where the Dutch landscape appears to morph into a flock of birds, and “Climbing and Descending” which depicts rows of people perpetually ascending and descending a flight of stairs. His fantastical structures, which couldn’t possibly exist in the real world, are optical illusions that play with perspective. As well as showcasing his famous prints, The Palace also houses a collection of Escher’s early works, such as the beautiful Italian landscapes, studies of Moorish mosaics and bizarre still lives.
The Tourist Office of the city of The Hague will be present at the ECCB 2016. A friendly hostess will give you all the information you need. Of course the hostess can inform you in detail about all the beautiful attractions, the interesting museums and the international shopping possibilities in The Hague. She can also make restaurant reservations, call a taxi, answer questions about public transport and arrange public transport tickets. In short, you are in good hands with our hostess.
More information on The Hague you will find on http://denhaag.com/en.