DESTINATION:
Dutch Art Treasures
The Golden Age in Holland witnessed a period of enormous prosperity, during a time when the Dutch Empire spanned the globe. Dutch Art also flourished during this time, with painters such as Frans Hals, van Ruisdael, Jan Steen, Vermeer and Rembrandt at the peak of their prowess. The works produced by these masters are best appreciated in the cities where they worked, in the galleries which boast the finest examples of the genre, against backdrops which have changed little in the intervening years.
The tour entitled ‘Dutch Art Treasures’ can be based either in Amsterdam or The Hague. For those who are more concerned with budget, The Hague offers an excellent, more competitively priced alternative to Amsterdam.
Recommended duration – from either base we recommend 4 nights/5 days.
KEY VISITS (Recommended)
AMSTERDAM
Mercantile wealth spawned the extensive construction of waterways, houses, churches and civic buildings, resulting in a harmoniously beautiful city at the heart of its canal ring. Our tour encompasses the great cultural achievements of the age, as well as highlighting major works from the more recent past.
- RIJKSMUSEUM – a chronological sequence of 80 galleries featuring 8,000 works of art and objects telling the story of the last 800 years of Dutch history.
- VAN LOON MUSEUM – Willem van Loon was one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company. Today the house offers restored period rooms, decorated panelling, stuccowork, mirrors, fireplaces, furnishings, and porcelain.
- STEDELIJK MUSEUM – housing modern and contemporary art and design from the early 20th century to the current day.
- VAN GOGH MUSEUM – the collection includes 200 paintings, including the famous Vase with Sunflowers and The Bedroom at Arles, 500 drawings, and many letters written to his brother Theo.
- We would also recommend a full day visit to The Hague as part of the programme, and one other full day further afield either to Haarlem, Delft, Apeldoorn (for Het Loo Palace) or Utrecht.
THE HAGUE
The Hague is the home of the court and a centre of diplomatic and political life, rather than a commercial centre. It retains an 18th and 19th century air of dignity and elegance with broad streets and avenues along which many royal and other fine residences are located.
- WALKING TOUR – to include the Lange Voorhout, one of the most elegant and upmarket boulevards in the city, and the Binnenhof, the Parliament building, which comprises a number of adjoining buildings of varying architectural styles constructed around a central cobbled courtyard.
- MAURITSHUIS – a charming and intimate museum housed in a fine Renaissance mansion dating from 1633, and including collections of numerous treasures of the Dutch Golden Age.
- PANORAMA MESDAG – the largest circular canvas in Europe, painted by H W Mesdag and other artists of the late 19th century Hague School. The vast canvas shows Scheveningen in 1880, a time when the fishing village was just beginning to become popular as a fashionable resort. The untouched dunes, beach and fishing fleet appear astonishingly lifelike in this illusory masterpiece.
- PRINCE WILLIAM V GALLERY – built in 1774 to display the paintings of Prince William V of Oranje-Nassau. It was the first art collection open to the public in the Netherlands and has been lavishly restored to its former glory. Over 150 old master paintings have been hung in the original, tightly packed, 18th century style.
- HOOGSTEDER & HOOGSTEDER – a family of established art dealers specialising in high quality Dutch and Flemish old masters. The artworks are housed in a splendid 17th century building in The Hague along with a beautiful collection of period furniture (visit subject to availability).
- We would recommend a full day visit to Amsterdam as part of the programme and one other full day further afield either to Haarlem, Delft, Apeldoorn (for Het Loo Palace) or Utrecht.
ALTERNATIVE VISITS
- ESCHER MUSEUM – housed in a former Royal Palace and featuring the work of Dutch graphical artist M.C. Escher. Escher, who began his career studying architecture and decorative arts at Haarlem, is best known for his mathematically inspired drawings, woodcuts and printmaking. With its non-conventional circular display, the 7 metre long woodcut Metamorphosis III is a particular highlight in this 18th century Royal Palace.
- GEMEENTEMUSEUM – located in a glorious art deco building constructed in 1935, it is the city’s municipal museum. The Gemeentemuseum houses a valuable collection of modern and applied art. The permanent collection houses works by Picasso, Appel and Klee, as well as the Dutch landscapes of The Hague School paintings. It is, however, best known for its unrivalled collection of paintings by Piet Mondrian, where pride of place is given to his astonishing final work, Victory Boogie Woogie. The museum’s applied arts are also well worth a mention, and of particular note is the remarkable collection of Delftware which comprises over 230 items.
- HET LOO PALACE – located to the east of Amsterdam in Apeldoorn. The palace and gardens of Het Loo served as the Dutch royal residence for nearly three centuries before being restored to simulate its 17th century glory and opened to the public as a national museum in 1984. The splendid palace and gardens are a tribute to the long history of art and architecture of the House of Orange.
- KRÖLLER-MÜLLER MUSEUM AND SCULPTURE PARK – the museum displays works of art from the late 19th and 20th century period, including the celebrated Van Gogh Collection (in excess of 200 pieces), and paintings of the French Impressionists. The Sculpture Park is the largest of its kind in Europe, and also one of the first, established in 1961, exhibiting sculptures by Rodin, Giacometti, Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore amongst others, integrated into the natural setting of the national park.
HAARLEM
- CATHEDRAL OF ST BAVO – constructed in the late 19th century and reputed to have one of the finest organs in the country.
- FRANS HALS MUSEUM – housed in the Oudemannenhuis (almshouses) where Frans Hals is said to have spent his final years, and displaying 16th century works by such painters as Jan Mostaert, van Scorel, van Goyen, Brouwer and van Ostade, and a good group of paintings by the Haarlem Mannerists, including Carel van Mander, as well as Frans Hals.
- TEYLERS MUSEUM – the oldest museum in the Netherlands having opened to the public in 1784. Originally founded as a Centre for Contemporary Art and Science, the collection remains relatively unchanged since the late 18th century and includes fossils and minerals, prints, drawings and paintings, scientific instruments, and coins and medals.
DELFT
- KONINKLIJKE PORCELYNE FLES – the Royal Delft Blue Porcelain Factory. This factory was founded in 1653 when Delftware was already known and prized throughout the world. Originally the ware was produced as tiles, plates and panels, but by the 17th century Delftware also included jars, vases and even doorway surrounds. Although the potteries declined during the 18th century, there was a revival of their fine craftsmanship during the late 19th century.
- WALKING TOUR – of ‘Vermeer’s Delft’, including a visit to both the Oude Kerk, a wonderful Gothic Church containing the tomb of Johannes Vermeer, and the Nieuwe Kerk, a late Gothic cruciform basilica, which houses the ornamental tomb of Prince William of Orange.
UTRECHT
Boasting the largest university in the country, this provincial capital city is renowned for its old, historic centre around the Domkerk, offering many attractive features including the 14th century sunken canals of the Oude and Nieuwe Grachts.
- CENTRAAL MUSEUM – the country’s oldest municipal museum. Utrecht is known internationally as the city where Gerritt Thomas Rietveld lived and worked, and the Museum has the largest Rietveld collection in the world. It also displays work by the Utrecht Caravaggists. It was the Caravaggists who gave painting in Utrecht its own unique character during the early 1600’s.
- RIETVELD SCHRÖDER HOUSE – the house was commissioned by Mrs Schröder from the Dutch architect and designer, Gerrit Rietveld, and is one of the finest examples of De Stijl architecture. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.
- ABORIGINAL ART MUSEUM – the only museum in Europe dedicated to contemporary Aboriginal Art from Australia. Located in the heart of Utrecht, the AAMU provides an intriguing insight into the trends, themes, and development of this versatile art.