Mauritshuis.

Mauritshuis

Private tour in the Royal Collection of paintings, Mauritshuis, The Hague. VIP curated museum tour.

See and understand more with your own art historian.

NEW. XXL Rijksmuseum Vermeer show 2023. Preparation class for the Rijksmuseum Vermeer blockbuster show 2023

Front entrance, Mauritshuis.

Option A, a visit in the flesh. Mauritshuis Museum, The Hague is reopening starting June 1, 2020, and due to Corona times, there are new rules of entry. Beforehand on the museum web site https://www.mauritshuis.nl/en/ticketshop/tickets/selecteer/

Please buy your tickets for a specific day and specific time block and please add one free ticket for me as your guide (choose Museumkaart… for 1 person. Please bring the resulting PDFs on your electronic device, as a photo of the PDF is not accepted. Inside, no photography is allowed. Preferred entry is at 10 AM. This museum has re-opend. New: Private Audio system available.

NEW Stolen Vermeer from Boston, resurrected.

Option B. Zoom lecture. New. Mauritshuis museum, Royal collection of art, The Hague. This is also the perfect moment to learn more about a a number of western painters, art schools, era’s etc. I can guide you digitally through many, many art museums on Zoom. With the help of my 10.000+ image bank of my own photographs. Zoom class, live, private art visit to Mauritshuis. New. Mauritshuis museum, Royal collection of art, The Hague.

Restoration of the van der Weijden, Lamentation

Gerrit Houckgeest, New Church interior, Delft

Detail of a children’s drawing, Gerrit Houckgeest, New Church interior, Delft

Temporary pontoon entry setup in preparation of the great Vermeer exhibition.

Feedback, 31 July 2020, from Carnegie museums of Pittsburgh after my Zoom class on Van Gogh: “The class was a great success, and we would love to work on scheduling another class with you featuring Vermeer and Rembrant.”. Feedback 25 August 2020: “You are our most popular presenter and we will book you for many more presentations.”

Feedback August 2020 from Providence Art Club, with a rich history of 140 years of lectures: “Your class was extremely well received, we will make more bookings this year.”

Feedback, August 2020 from the Arts society Sebarts .org in Sebastopol, California. “We loved your Zoom classes and will book more!”.

See Paulus Potter, the all-time favourite outsize Bull. Stolen by French soldiers, exhibited in the Louvre and subsequently stolen back by Dutch soldiers. And Roelant Savery: Flower piece. The museum is extremely rich in flower pieces. They usually are shown in springtime.

Join me to the Royal Collection of paintings, Mauritshuis contains masterworks by Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt, Fabritius, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter, Frans Hals, Jacob van Ruisdael, Hans Holbein the Younger, and many others. It also shows the now famous „Goldfinch” by Fabritius. Housed in the private mansion of Johan Maurits, the ex-Governor of Brazil, you will find the outstanding Royal Collection of Paintings, held by the head of State, now King Willem Alexander. The quality level of the collection is incredibly high – to give you an idea: comparable to The Frick Collection in NYC which is also housed in a private mansion.

In 1820, the building was bought by the Dutch state for the purpose of housing the Royal Cabinet of Paintings. William I started purchasing works of art. In 1822, it was opened to the public and housed the Royal Cabinet of Paintings and the Royal Cabinet of Rarities. At this time the famous Vermeer: ‘View of Delft’ entered the collection under the correct Vermeer label.

Fabritius, Goldfinch. Click on the blue link above.

In 1875, the entire museum was redesigned to hold paintings only. After WW2, the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam and the Mauritshuis decided to swap works to and fro, strengthening the early Flemish collection in The Hague. All in all it is a jewel box full of the highest quality paintings: Vermeer, Hals, Rembrandt, Dou, and many many others.

Rubens, in his own hand. Without assistants.

Lecture in front of the Girl With the Pearl Earring (her wearing glass beads, not pearls).

Detailed analysis of Vermeer, View of Delft, a result of thorough archival research in the 1980s.

A small Rubens, painted single-handedly. It allows us to study the ‘handwriting’ of this Antwerp artist. Vermeer: Girl with the Pearl Earring. We will stand close and learn many new things about what we see.

For many art aficionados this museum is the highlight of an entire journey. During the last renovation, the building across the street was connected to it by an underground passage, forming extra space for temporary exhibitions and a cafe.

Nearby, outside are the inner court of the Counts of Holland, now the Houses of Parliament. At 5 minutes walk is the new white XXL City Hall with its incredible Atrium, by architect Richard Meier. Always good for a gasp!

Take a walk or a taxi or tram ride in The Hague.

Tour guide rules in Europe

Tour by Drs Kees Kaldenbach, a professional Art History scholar with excellent teaching skills. Specialist in Fine art and Design, Architecture and History. VIP entry.

During restoration: Vermeer’s Girl with Pearl Earring.

Business card. The logo refers to Vermeer.

HOW TO GET THERE

The Hague is easy to reach with public transport, by train. From the train station it is a 10 minute walk. I hold a Dutch Railways rebate card, so for this train tour I can offer you a special rebate of 40% for three separate adult railway tickets. This makes it economical for you as clients. I can join you from your hotel or from the Amsterdam train station.

Various other options are open to you: a) You can hire a car and drive it yourself, and I will join you starting in Amsterdam and will advise you about the best route. b) We can hire a professional taxibus service at around E 70 per hour for about 4 to 5 hours. On top of that you will pay me as the specialist guide. This is the more expensive option.