Description of the attraction
Mauritshuis (house of Moritz) is an art museum in The Hague, which displays masterpieces of Dutch painting. The building where the museum is located was built in 1636-1641. for Prince Johann Moritz of Nassau-Siegen, Governor of Dutch Brazil. Famous architects Jacob van Kampen and Peter Post have created a masterpiece of classical Dutch architecture. Mauritshuis is a free-standing building that is rarely seen in Dutch architecture. This gave the architects the opportunity to fully show the beauty of classic proportions and decorations. The internal layout of the building is also absolutely symmetrical. The building was not originally planned as a museum, and at the end of the 80s of the XX century, reconstruction was carried out, as a result of which Mauritshuis became a modern museum. Another renovation is currently underway.
In 1820, the government of the Netherlands bought the Mauritshuis in order to house a collection of paintings there, which King William I transferred to the state ownership. This collection marked the beginning of the art collection, which is now called the Royal Gallery of Art. The collection is constantly growing, in 1822 it consisted of 200 paintings, and now it contains 800. The museum's collection contains genuine masterpieces, mainly the Golden Age of Dutch painting, there are also several works by Hans Holbein the Younger. Here are exhibited works by Rembrandt, Pieter Bruegel, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Paulus Potter, Rubens.
Much attention is paid to the state of the paintings in the museum, a team of highly professional restorers works here, but the museum also invites experts from other museums or from abroad.
