2022 marks 200 years since the Mauritshuis opened

Pen meets Paint

For its bicentenary, the Mauritshuis asked 200 writers to draw inspiration from the museum’s collection. The crème de la crème of today's literary community, from at home and abroad, participated in this remarkable book. One writer; one work of art from the Mauritshuis; 200 words per contribution – never before have so many authors appeared together in a single publication. To name just a few of the contributors: Isabel Allende, Margaret Atwood, Nicci French, Arnon Grunberg, Nino Haratischwili, Murat Isik, Hilary Mantel, Cees Nooteboom, Connie Palmen, Sholeh Rezazadeh, Simon Schama, Donna Tartt and Tommy Wieringa. 

Presentation: 20 January

In Full Bloom

In Full Bloom showcases the most beautiful flower still lifes from the period 1600-1725 from both the museum’s own collection and abroad. Roses, tulips, columbines and carnations, as well as Batavia roses, amethyst hyacinths, Siberian flag irises, Persian tulips and cypress herb will bring scent and colour to the Mauritshuis. The Dutch flower still life was one of the most popular painting genres in the 17th century. The exhibition pays particular attention to the women painters active in this genre, who created a furore in flower painting and played an important role in the science of flowers and plants. In Full Bloom brings together some 30 paintings, alongside prints, drawings, flower and tulip albums and botanical publications.

16 February – 1 June 2022

The Impossible Bouquet

The flower painters went to great lengths to bring together all the flowers from a single growing season in one vase: ‘the impossible bouquet’. To coincide with the opening of In Full Bloom, the museum façade will be decorated with (sustainable) artificial flowers. More will be added every few weeks until the entire building is hidden behind the ‘impossible bouquet’, inspired by Jan Davidsz de Heem’s painting Vase with Flowers from 1670. There will also be special flower boxes in the museum forecourt, filled with real flowers in full bloom. Tom Postma Design in Amsterdam is behind the floral design.

From 16 February 2021.

FLASH / BACK

During the summer photography takes centre stage. The Mauritshuis will mirror its permanent collection with contemporary homegrown photography. Famous photographers, as well as new talents in the world of art and documentary photography, will be invited to take inspiration from the Mauritshuis collection and building. Which masters are they inspired by? How will they interpret our 17th-century art? The result – new photos by these contemporary masters – will be displayed in the permanent collection, alongside the paintings by the old masters, one in each of the 16 rooms. The photographers taking part are: Sara Blokland, Morad Bouchakour, Anton Corbijn, Elspeth Diederix, Desirée Dolron, Rineke Dijkstra, Kadir van Lohuizen, Sanja Marušić, Vincent Mentzel, Erwin Olaf, Kevin Osepa, Ahmet Polat, Carla van de Puttelaar, Viviane Sassen, Dustin Thierry and Stephan Vanfleteren.

1 June – 16 October

Mauritshuis Murals

The Mauritshuis wants to celebrate its bicentenary together with the residents of The Hague with a special project: the first outdoor Street Art museum! In collaboration with The Hague Street Art, large murals will be created in various locations around the city. These works of art will be created by various Street Art artists, including established names and up-and-coming talent, with the Mauritshuis collection serving as a source of inspiration. Big names from the Street Art scene will be contributing to the project, including Nina Valkhoff, the duo Super A and Collin van de Sluijs. 

Summer 2022 

Hello Vermeer!

Families with children aged 3 to 11 can learn about Vermeer in a playful way through various activities at the museum. During the summer of 2019, families were introduced to Rembrandt in the hands-on family exhibition Hello Rembrandt! Now children can follow in the footsteps of another great Dutch master: Johannes Vermeer. Families can find out more about the Dutch painter: Which paints did he use in his paintings? How did he play with light? Various fun activities and creative workshops mean that younger visitors can really step into the shoes of this famous 17th-century artist. And the best part? Admission is free for everyone aged 18 and under (and the exhibition is of course also in English!) 

9 July – 28 August

The Frick Collection at the Mauritshuis

The bicentenary year concludes with a very special exhibition: ten paintings from The Frick Collection in New York. By rare exception, the American museum is able to lend these works due to renovation work. This will be a one-time opportunity to view this selection of paintings in Europe, which (with one exception) left the continent more than a hundred years ago and have been in America ever since. One of the greatest masterpieces on view will be Rembrandt’s self-portrait from 1658. The painter immortalised himself many times, but many consider this self-portrait to be one of the very best. The founder of the The Frick Collection was the industrialist Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), who also built the house where the present-day museum is located.

29 September 2022 – 15 January 2023

House of Stories

In January, the museum will be launching a digital timeline with various stories about the famous art collection and the people who have looked after it, from caretakers to directors. In words and images, we will take a fresh and open look back at two centuries of the Mauritshuis: mauritshuis.nl/huisvolverhalen. The public will also be able to share special memories of the museum. Memories including photographs, videos, spoken recollections, letters, diary entries etc are all welcome via [email protected].  

From January 5