Welcome to Netherlands!
The hotel staff opened the door then realized that I was chilled and wet last night. It was rainy and windy in the evening. I roamed downtown for the second time in the evening. Walking from hotel. I had learned to find a shortcut to go downtown from hotel and really there are some ways I can use if I walk. Not with car because Den Haag has a lot of one-way streets. Anyway, it’s a really nice long walk as often. The weather was bearable on the day although it’s quite windy and in the evening was just… fun!
Yesterday was my painting museum day. I visited three museums displaying Netherlands’ maestro’s works. Mauritshuis Museum is located quite in the center of downtown in a house that was named after the man who had it built: Count Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen. Johan Maurits was the governor of the Dutch colony in Brazil from 1636 to 1644, during which period this house was built for him.
The museum consists of approximately 800 paintings, 50 miniatures, 20 sculptures, and drawings and prints. Many are realist paintings from the 14th-18th centuries and some are by the maestros like Rembrandt and Vermeer. It’s nicely arranged in the rooms of the house with nice setting and audio guide (that surprisingly has some information missing). I took my time to enjoy the paintings that luckily we could have a closer look because almost all paintings are hung without stand border. And Vermeer’s most famous ‘girl with a pearl earring’ is really good! Now I could see why the painting becomes the star of the museum. In the end of about 1.5 hour I must say I was a bit overwhelmed! It’s just too much. If I live here, I would like to come again and see the paintings with fresher mind.
I walked around to find a nice resto to have lunch when I spotted Escher’s museum that was also a palace. The Lange Voorhout Palace has been owned by the Royal Family for almost a hundred years. In 1896 it was bought by Queen Emma, the great-grandmother of present Queen Beatrix. Anyway, I have become an Escher’s fan since Mama brought us a quite thick book about his works from one of her trips to Netherlands over 25 years ago. I looked at his works a lot during those days. His woodcut and lithograph works are so fine. His ideas to interconnect spaces and include mathematics in the work are just brilliant. I was just mesmerized by the intricate work of a graphic artist in a far away land in the early 1900. So to be in the museum to see the real work along with its description as study was really nice! And not just about Escher but also about the history of the palace. Each room has description about how it was used in the past by the Queen. I admired how the administration looks after both precious heritage and shares it with public at the same time.
It was quite late in the afternoon when I visited the Gemeente Museum on the outskirts of the town. The building itself is already magnificent. It's an art deco style with colorful tiles and geometric patterns. I envied how things are kept really well by using it in today life. So again, I visited a painting museum while admiring a nice building. Every detail. The museum is more for expressionist paintings from the 18th to now. It also has Mondrian’s work that I never saw the real work until yesterday. Some are fine, some are ‘raw’ but of course it looked very nice from distance. I think that’s how maestro work that the painting looks even finer from distance. The museum also has a non-permanent exhibition going on. It was close to 5 so I finished the vast museum quickly. I got an inspiration on the way back. I have to kick the idea out soon because the idea has been there for a while actually. Let’s see how’s my life in Ubud when I'm back.
What a day with seeing a lot of paintings! I feel enriched!
The Geemente Museum in Den Haag.