International opening: Mauritshuis, Royal Picture Gallery, The Hague, Netherlands
With visitors beating a path to the door to see classic works such as Vermeer’s Girl with A Pearl Earring, a major renovation and expansion was vital for this museum in The Hague. By Geraldine Kendall
The Mauritshuis Royal Picture Gallery, which sits alongside the Dutch parliament in the heart of The Hague, reopened last month following a two-year expansion and renovation.
The lakeside museum is home to a small but world-renowned collection of art from the Dutch Golden Age, including more than 800 paintings, miniatures, sculptures and prints. Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson, Potter’s The Bull and Vermeer masterpieces such as View of Delft, and Diana and her Nymphs are among the museum’s most famous works.
This valuable collection has been a draw for visitors since the museum opened in 1822, but its worldwide profile has grown even further since the publication, and subsequent film adaption, of Tracy Chevalier’s novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring, based on the Vermeer painting of the same name.
The painting is the museum’s star exhibit, and is so widely recognised now that it is thought of as the Mona Lisa of the Netherlands.
Chevalier isn’t the only writer to have been inspired by the collection; more recently, Donna Tartt based her Pulitzer prize-winning third novel, The Goldfinch, on the titular painting by Carel Fabritius, also on display at the museum.
As a result of this international publicity, literary fans from around the globe started beating a path to the museum. It soon became clear that the 17th-century Dutch classicist building was no longer able to accommodate the needs of 21st-century visitors.
The building’s listed status prevented the museum from creating an adjoining extension; instead it has built another wing in a vacant art deco building located across the street. A new entrance to the museum has been constructed in the courtyard outside, where a staircase and glass elevator take visitors down to a large underground foyer linking the two buildings.
The Royal Dutch Shell Wing has more than doubled the museum’s floorspace and houses temporary exhibition galleries and an education centre, as well as an auditorium, library and offices.
Along with this expansion, the existing museum has been fully renovated to restore the building’s original architectural features and colour schemes. Its permanent collection has also been redisplayed, with Girl with a Pearl Earring set apart to allow more viewing space for visitors.
What were the main aims of the redevelopment?
Emilie Gordenker: The museum was bursting at its seams before this project began. The entrance was inadequate for the international allure of the museum as well as for the number of visitors that we were receiving.
Due to lack of space, we had to take parts of the permanent collection off display in order to accommodate exhibitions. We had no space for educational activities.
Some aspects of the historic building also urgently needed renovation, such as the windows and the air conditioning system. The lighting and fabric wall-covering were also dated.
How did the architect manage to integrate the older building with the more modern space?
The architect, Hans van Heeswijk, created a brilliant design that allows visitors to enter the museum by means of a large, light-filled foyer.
Access is provided by a lift and stairs on the forecourt, a little like the Louvre pyramid. The foyer is accessible free of charge, and has a large information point, coat check, shop and cafe. From this foyer, visitors ascend to the historic building to view the permanent collection or go up into the new wing.
What was the most challenging aspect of the project?
Integrating two historic buildings of different periods, both of which were monuments, one from the 17th century, the other an art deco wing built in 1930-31. Both buildings have a strong character, which was kept intact, but joined by a 21st-century, neutral and light-filled space.
As this part of The Hague is highly visible, the building site was extremely compact, and the monuments commission had a major role to play in approving the plans.
This being the Netherlands, the entire site is under the water table, which meant that we needed the most advanced engineering possible to achieve the underground foyer.
Why do you think the collection has been such a source of inspiration to novelists?
Dutch paintings of the Golden Age remain accessible and appealing to us today. They are small in scale, the subject matter is often secular and relatively easy to understand, and the quality extremely high.
And yet they have the mystery and appeal of historical distance, as they were made so many hundreds of years ago.
Seeing the collection in the context of the Mauritshuis itself is a very special experience. The intimate rooms of the historic building provide a unique setting that encourages visitors to look, and look again, at these exquisite paintings.
Many form a personal bond with the pictures and that is what I think you see reflected in the novels that were inspired by our collection.
The lakeside museum is home to a small but world-renowned collection of art from the Dutch Golden Age, including more than 800 paintings, miniatures, sculptures and prints. Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson, Potter’s The Bull and Vermeer masterpieces such as View of Delft, and Diana and her Nymphs are among the museum’s most famous works.
This valuable collection has been a draw for visitors since the museum opened in 1822, but its worldwide profile has grown even further since the publication, and subsequent film adaption, of Tracy Chevalier’s novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring, based on the Vermeer painting of the same name.
The painting is the museum’s star exhibit, and is so widely recognised now that it is thought of as the Mona Lisa of the Netherlands.
Chevalier isn’t the only writer to have been inspired by the collection; more recently, Donna Tartt based her Pulitzer prize-winning third novel, The Goldfinch, on the titular painting by Carel Fabritius, also on display at the museum.
As a result of this international publicity, literary fans from around the globe started beating a path to the museum. It soon became clear that the 17th-century Dutch classicist building was no longer able to accommodate the needs of 21st-century visitors.
The building’s listed status prevented the museum from creating an adjoining extension; instead it has built another wing in a vacant art deco building located across the street. A new entrance to the museum has been constructed in the courtyard outside, where a staircase and glass elevator take visitors down to a large underground foyer linking the two buildings.
The Royal Dutch Shell Wing has more than doubled the museum’s floorspace and houses temporary exhibition galleries and an education centre, as well as an auditorium, library and offices.
Along with this expansion, the existing museum has been fully renovated to restore the building’s original architectural features and colour schemes. Its permanent collection has also been redisplayed, with Girl with a Pearl Earring set apart to allow more viewing space for visitors.
What were the main aims of the redevelopment?
Emilie Gordenker: The museum was bursting at its seams before this project began. The entrance was inadequate for the international allure of the museum as well as for the number of visitors that we were receiving.
Due to lack of space, we had to take parts of the permanent collection off display in order to accommodate exhibitions. We had no space for educational activities.
Some aspects of the historic building also urgently needed renovation, such as the windows and the air conditioning system. The lighting and fabric wall-covering were also dated.
How did the architect manage to integrate the older building with the more modern space?
The architect, Hans van Heeswijk, created a brilliant design that allows visitors to enter the museum by means of a large, light-filled foyer.
Access is provided by a lift and stairs on the forecourt, a little like the Louvre pyramid. The foyer is accessible free of charge, and has a large information point, coat check, shop and cafe. From this foyer, visitors ascend to the historic building to view the permanent collection or go up into the new wing.
What was the most challenging aspect of the project?
Integrating two historic buildings of different periods, both of which were monuments, one from the 17th century, the other an art deco wing built in 1930-31. Both buildings have a strong character, which was kept intact, but joined by a 21st-century, neutral and light-filled space.
As this part of The Hague is highly visible, the building site was extremely compact, and the monuments commission had a major role to play in approving the plans.
This being the Netherlands, the entire site is under the water table, which meant that we needed the most advanced engineering possible to achieve the underground foyer.
Why do you think the collection has been such a source of inspiration to novelists?
Dutch paintings of the Golden Age remain accessible and appealing to us today. They are small in scale, the subject matter is often secular and relatively easy to understand, and the quality extremely high.
And yet they have the mystery and appeal of historical distance, as they were made so many hundreds of years ago.
Seeing the collection in the context of the Mauritshuis itself is a very special experience. The intimate rooms of the historic building provide a unique setting that encourages visitors to look, and look again, at these exquisite paintings.
Many form a personal bond with the pictures and that is what I think you see reflected in the novels that were inspired by our collection.
Project data
- Cost €22m; €6.4m (Mauritshuis renovation)
- Main funders Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science; Shell Nederland BV; Kansen voor West (Opportunities for West) programme; Dutch Government Buildings Agency; BankGiro Lottery; the Mauritshuis’s own capital; proceeds from an international travelling exhibition; individuals, funds and sponsors
- Architect Hans van Heeswijk