Do you live in the Netherlands and are wondering which exhibitions to visit this autumn? When I was compiling my list of the best exhibitions to visit in European museums in the upcoming months, I realised so many great exhibitions will be organised in autumn 2025 in the Netherlands. From the history of desserts to Iris van Herpen retrospective, Dutch museums are offering something for everyone this season.
Best exhibitions in the Netherlands in autumn 2025
1 – Grand Dessert, The Hague
Kunstmuseum Den Haag | 23 November 2024 – 26 October 2025
Kunstmuseum Den Haag, one of the best museums in The Hague, has a great reputation for organising some wonderful temporary exhibitions. The show you shouldn’t miss in autumn 2025 is dedicated to desserts! Drawing on their history, the variety of sweets around the world, and the origins of some ingredients, the exhibition is a must-visit for anyone with a sweet tooth. It’s beautifully designed, so expect a feast for all of your senses.
The exhibition was extended due to its popularity, with the new closing date being 26 October 2025. Read more about it on this link.
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2 – Flourish
Museum Van Loon, Amsterdam | Until 30 November 2025
Flourish is the first solo exhibition in the Netherlands by American artist Kehinde Wiley. Inspired by historical portraits and the interior of Museum Van Loon, Wiley presents new portraits in this exhibition.
Wiley is well-known for his 2018 portrait of Barack Obama, which made him the first African-American artist commissioned to paint the official U.S. presidential portrait. In this exhibition, he presents portraits of people he met in Suriname, exploring the “ties between Western portraiture, Dutch global colonial presence and contemporary art as social and cultural practice.”
Read more about the exhibition on the museum’s website.
⤷ Read more: Best Museums in Amsterdam & Tips for Visiting Them
3 – The Grand Tour – Destination Italy
Mauritshuis, The Hague | 18 September 2025 – 4 January 2026
This exhibition explores the Grand Tours of the 17th and 18th centuries, which are a great way to learn about the history of travel. Young British aristocrats would embark on these journeys mainly as part of their education. They were coming back home with various souvenirs in the form of Roman busts or landscape paintings.
The exhibition has a special bonus for anyone who loves to travel: one of the visitors will win a trip to Rome! Read more about this exhibition on the Mauritshuis website.
4 – Van Gogh and the Roulins. Together Again at Last
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam | 3 October 2025 – 11 January 2026
When famous Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh moved to Arles in 1888, he became friends with a local postman, Joseph Roulin. The painter always aspired to become a portraitist, and this friendship allowed him to do that in the height of his career. Vincent van Gogh made numerous portraits of Joseph Roulin and his family members, his wife, two sons, and a baby daughter.
Many of these portraits will be displayed for the first time at this autumn’s exhibition in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Find more info about this autumn exhibition in Amsterdam, here.
“I’ve done the portraits of an entire family, the family of the postman whose head I did before – the man, his wife, the baby, the young boy and the 16-year-old son, all characters and very French, although they have a Russian look.”
Vincent van Gogh’s letter to his brother Theo, 1 December 1888
⤷ TIP: Do you need a guide during your visit to the Van Gogh Museum? Check out my private museum tours in Amsterdam here.
5 – At Home in the 17th century
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam | 17 October 2025 – 12 January 2026
This autumn, the Rijksmuseum organises an exhibition dedicated to domestic and family life in the 17th century. You can get a glimpse into it while exploring some of Jan Steen or Johannes Vermeer paintings at the museum’s Gallery of Honour. However, at this exhibition you’ll get a chance to learn even more.
Centred around two of its highlights, doll’s houses belonging to Petronella Oortman and Petronella Dunois, numerous objects from everyday life in the 17th-century Netherlands will be on display. Read more about it on the Rijksmuseum website.
⤷ Read more: Rijksmuseum Highlights – What to see at the Rijksmuseum
6 – Brancusi
H’Art Museum, Amsterdam | 20 September 2025 – 18 January 2026
Constantin Brancusi (1876-1957) is one of the founders of the art of modern sculpture. This exhibition provides a great overview of his art, including some of his most famous works like the female torso, “Princess X” and the “Kiss” series.
The artworks are on loan from the Pompidou Centre in Paris, which is closed for restoration at the moment. So that makes it a rare opportunity to see these artworks in Amsterdam.
⤷ Read more: Best Art Cafes in Amsterdam
7 – Titanic & Fashion – The Last Dance
Kunstmuseum Den Haag | 27 September 2025 – 25 January 2026
Kunstmuseum Den Haag has a reputation for organising wonderful exhibitions on fashion. The one they are preparing this autumn is no exception. They will display some of the original costumes from the 1997 Titanic movie, together with items from their own collection dating to the 1910s.
A visit to it is also a chance to prolong your visit and explore one of the best collections of Piet Mondriaan’s artworks you can find in Dutch museums.
8 – Michelangelo and Men
Teylers Museum, Haarlem | 15 October 2025 – 25 January 2026
This autumn, Teylers, the oldest museum in the Netherlands, is celebrating the 550th birthday of the famous Renaissance master. Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) was fascinated by the male body, and this exhibition will offer a new perspective on it.
The museum will explore this theme through 20 drawings from its collection, as well as many international loans, including the marble sculpture “Apollo-David.”
Plan a trip to Haarlem and don’t miss one of the best exhibitions this autumn in the Netherlands. Read more about it here.
9- Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses
Kunsthal Rotterdam | 27 September 2025 – 1 March 2026
Iris van Herpen is a Dutch fashion designer with a reputation for being one of the most avant-garde ones of her generation. Through more than one hundred of her creations, the Kunsthal Rotterdam promises to explore van Herpen’s work by bringing together fashion, contemporary art, design, and science.
This fascinating retrospective should absolutely find its place on your list of the best exhibitions to see in Dutch museums this autumn. Read more about the exhibition here.
⤷ Read more: A Guide to Rotterdam
10 – Coba Ritsema
Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem | 19 September 2025 – 1 March 2026
One of the exhibitions you shouldn’t miss this autumn in the Netherlands is dedicated to Coba Ritsema (1876 – 1961) in Frans Hals Museum. The painter from Haarlem was one of the rare female artists of her time. However, she was a successful portraitist and painter of still lives.
The exhibition features around 35 paintings made by Coba Ritsema and her contemporaries, including well-known names like George Hendrik Breitner. Follow this link to read more about the exhibition.
⤷ Read more: Things to do in Haarlem
With so many great exhibitions organised in museums in the Netherlands this autumn, everyone will find great shows to visit. Are you planning to visit any of these exhibitions? Let me know in the comments!
Cover photo: Kehinde Wiley, Museum Van Loon. Photography by Thijs Wolzak
