The Mauritshuis, The Hague

[Marengo]

From this wikipedia page:

The Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis (English: "Maurice's House") is an art museum in The Hague, the Netherlands. Previously the residence of count John Maurice of Nassau, it now has a large art collection, including paintings by Dutch painters such as Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter and Frans Hals and works of the German painter Hans Holbein the Younger.

In 1631, army officer John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen (1604–1679), who was a cousin of stadtholder Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, bought a plot bordering the Binnenhof and the adjacent pond named Hofvijver (English: "Court's Pond") in the The Hague, Holland, Dutch Republic. At that time, The Hague was the political center of the Dutch Republic and the States-General assembled in the Binnenhof.
The Mauritshuis was named after Prince John Maurice and was build between 1636 and 1641, the period when he was the governor of Dutch Brazil. The Dutch Classicist building was designed by the Dutch architects Jacob van Campen and Pieter Post. The two-storey building is strictly symmetrical contained four apartments and a great hall. Each apartment was designed with an antechamber, a chamber, a cabinet, and a cloakroom. Originally, the building had a cupola, which was destroyed in the a fire in 1704.
After the death of Prince John Maurice in 1679, the house was owned by the Maes family, who leased the house to the Dutch government. In 1704, most of the interior of the Mauritshuis was destroyed by fire. The building was restored between 1708 and 1718. In 1820, the Mauritshuis was bought by the Dutch state for the purpose of housing the Royal Cabinet of Paintings.

In 1822, the Mauritshuis was opened for the public and housed the Royal Cabinet of Paintings and the Royal Cabinet of Rarities. In 1875, the entire museum was available for paintings.
The Mauritshuis was a state museum until it was privatised in 1995. The foundation set up at that time took charge of both the building and the collection, which it was given on long-term loan. This building, which is the property of the state, is rented by the museum. The museum collaborates regularly with museums in other countries.
In 2007, the museum had almost 250,000 visitors.

The collection of paintings of stadtholder William V, Prince of Orange was handed over 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. The current collection consists of almost 800 paintings and focusses on Dutch and Flemish artists, such as Pieter Brueghel, Paulus Potter, Pieter Paul Rubens, Rembrandt van Rijn, Jacob van Ruisdael, Johannes Vermeer, and Rogier van der Weyden. There are also works of Hans Holbein in the collection in the Mauritshuis.

[Marengo]

1) Private
2) Hans Franken

[Marengo]

Some images:
1) www.uitje.nl
2)www.vvvdenhaag.nl



Note that next to the Mauritshuis you can see the tower where the prime minister has his office.

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1) The Golden Room (www.mauritshuis.nl)
2) 'The girl with the pearl earring' by Johannes Vermeer (www.illusionsgallery.com)
3) 'Ice Scene' by hendrick Avercamp (www.ibiblio.org)

[lucien]

Former Royal residence,build by "the Brazilian",Johan Maurits of Nassau (1604-1679),he founded the first colony in Brazil and was it's governor untill it was seized by the Portuguese.It is now the Mauritshuis museum.

http://historie.denhaag.org/maurits.htm

[Marengo]

The official website of the Mauritshuis in Dutch here and in English here. Lots of paintings to be seen, among them the girl with the pearl earring.

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View with GoogleMaps, click here.

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And the floorplan, here.

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And some high visitors here.

[Emily]

Marengo, I just finished reading a book about the extensive exchange of Dutch/English culture in the 17th century. In particular the book focused on a Constantijn Huygens and his influence. It said that he had built a house next to the Mauritshaus in the Hague -- do you know if that is still standing?

[lucien]

Originally Posted by lucien

Former Royal residence,build by "the Brazilian",Johan Maurits of Nassau (1604-1679),he founded the first colony in Brazil and was it's governor untill it was seized by the Portuguese.It is now the Mauritshuis museum.

Mauritshuis

Emily,you can see the Huygens house in the link I provided above.You will have to scroll down and you'll find it at your right hand.