Jewel box of Golden Age icons
Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp” by Rembrandt, and “The Goldfinch” by Fabritius are among the masterpieces on permanent display at the Mauritshuis in The Hague. The intimate rooms of this 17th-century building, an aristocratic residence now the property of the Dutch government, house a compact yet world-renowned collection of more than 800 works by Dutch and Flemish masters working between the 15th and 18th centuries, including some of the most important paintings of the Golden Age. Works are displayed in an atmosphere of grandeur, with silk damask wall coverings, 18th-century-style chandeliers and monumental ceiling paintings. A renovation completed in 2014 nearly doubled its gallery space, which in addition to this world-class collection hosts blockbuster temporary exhibitions that celebrate Dutch and Flemish painters. The Mauritshuis also oversees the Prince William V Gallery, an opulent 18th-century space originally built by the Prince of Orange in 1774 and the Netherland’s first-ever museum. Reopened in 1977 and restored in 2010, the gallery displays its collection of paintings in a dense salon-style arrangement evocative of its era.
