Home to the Dutch Royal family, The Hague is also a town where you’ll find some of the best museums in the Netherlands. After being to its star collection, the Mauritshuis several times, and exploring some of its great cultural venues, like the Kunstmuseum and Escher in het Paleis in the past, a few days ago I took a trip to The Hague in search of some new museums to explore in that charming town. And let me tell you, I wasn’t disappointed. Quite the contrary, I found some of the best museums to visit in The Hague.
Best Museums to Visit in The Hague
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You’ll agree with me that The Hague is a very remarkable place. It really is the centre of the art world in Holland (…).
Vincent Van Gogh in a letter to his brother Theo, September 1883
Although many people visiting the Netherlands go to Amsterdam‘s Rijksmuseum to look for artworks by Rembrandt or Vermeer, or visit the Van Gogh Museum to see some of the paintings by the famous post-Impressionist, you’ll find some of the most famous Dutch paintings in The Hague.
Among them are the world-famous artworks any art lover should see at least once in their lifetime. They are on permanent display in these museums, so whenever you plan to visit The Hague, you’ll most probably see them there.
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Museum in The Hague to see the Dutch Masters
Being home to some of the world-famous masterpieces made by Johannes Vermeer and Rembrandt van Rijn, The Hague is the right place to visit if you’re interested in paintings made by the Dutch Masters of the 17th century.
Mauritshuis
Address: Plein 29, 2511 CS The Hague | Click here for online tickets
Mauritshuis isn’t only one of the best museums to visit in The Hague. It’s also home to one of the most famous paintings in the world, Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring”. This painting isn’t world-famous for no reason. Vermeer was the master of light and you can see that well in this painting. He was also one of the first Dutch painters to use the blue lapis lazuli pigment in his artworks.
Another well-known painting it’s home to is “The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicholaes Tulp”, one of the most famous artworks made by Rembrandt van Rijn.
The museum is located in the 17th-century mansion next to the Binnenhof Parliament building. It’s home to the Royal Cabinet of Paintings, a great collection of Flemish and Dutch Old Masters artworks. You’ll find paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, Frans Hals, Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruisdael, and other 17th-century artists there.
The museum isn’t too large, it won’t be overwhelming, and you can see everything within two hours.
Mauritshuis got its name from the house’s former owner, Johan Maurits. Only a tiny portion of the collection once belonged to him. He is a controversial historical figure because of his role in the slave trade in Dutch Brazil during the 17th century. The museum dedicated a webpage to him, so if you’d like to learn more about Johan Maurits, take a look here.
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The Hague School paintings in museums in The Hague
The Hague was the birthplace of one of the most important styles in Dutch art, The Hague School. It was established by a group of painters living in that Dutch town between 1860 and 1890. Escaping the growing industrialisation, they focused on painting the peaceful countryside and landscapes. Their style was characterised by the use of sombre colours, with numerous shades of grey, brown and earth pigments. You’ll find many of their artworks in the museums in The Hague.
Panorama Mesdag
Address: Zeestraat 65, 2518 AA The Hague | Click here for online tickets
Panorama Mesdag is one of The Hague museums I recently discovered, and I can’t believe I didn’t know about it before.
Painted in 1881 by Hendrik Willem Mesdag, the museum’s highlight, which also gave the museum its name, is the “Panorama of Scheveningen”. A large painting is displayed in an oval room giving a viewer, who is standing on a round-shaped platform, a feeling of having a 360° panoramic view of Scheveningen. These kinds of panoramic views were quite popular during the 19th century before the cinema took over. Mesdag’s Panorama is one of the rare ones that still exists. The painting is 114,5 metres long (around 3756,5 feet).
Then I saw Mesdag’s Panorama with him, that’s a work for which one must have the utmost respect. It put me in mind of what Bürger or Thoré, I think, said about Rembrandt’s Anatomy Lesson. That painting’s only fault is not to have any faults.
Vincent van Gogh in a letter to his brother Theo, 26 August 1881
This painting isn’t only the masterpiece of the Hague School because of its size and impeccable execution. But, also because H. W. Mesdag collaborated with other members of The Hague School on it. Besides him, his wife Sientje Mesdag-van Houten worked on a painting, as well as Bernard Blommers, George Hendrik Breitner and Théophile de Bock. The five of them finished the work on the massive artwork within four months.
The Panorama Mesdag Museum also has a fantastic collection of other The Hague School paintings. It’s a great place to learn about the style that is so typical of The Hague and the Netherlands. But, also to get a glimpse into the life of the 19th century.
⤷ TIP: The museum is closed on Monday, so plan your visit on other days.
Mesdag Collectie
Address: Laan van Meerdervoort 7F, 2517 AB The Hague | Click here for online tickets
Another wonderful museum to visit in The Hague and explore that unique style is the Mesdag Collectie. It’s home to one of the largest collections of The Hague School paintings in the city. And the biggest collection of the Barbizon School artworks outside of France.
This special museum is located in the former home of the artist couple H. W. Mesdag and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten. You’ll see their paintings on display, too. However, besides being artists they were also important art collectors. They gathered a fantastic collection of The Hague School paintings made by the artists they mostly personally knew. But, they also gathered an impressive collection of French 19th-century artists, and Japanese art and craft.
The couple built a museum next to their house to display all of these artworks. It’s a wonderful compact museum that will fascinate you both with its artwork and beautiful setting.
Vincent van Gogh also saw some artworks from the Mesdag Collection at an exhibition organised in The Hague in 1882, and mentioned it in one of his letters:
I recently saw the exhibition of the French art (on the Boschkant) from the collection of Mesdag, Post &c. There are many beautiful things there by Dupré, Corot, Daubigny, Diaz, Courbet, Breton, Jacque &c. I especially liked the large sketch by T. Rousseau from the Mesdag collection, a drove of cattle in the Alps. And a landscape by Courbet (…). I think this is the most beautiful work by Courbet that I’ve seen so far.
Vincent van Gogh in a letter to his brother Theo, 15 & 16 July 1882
Modern Art in The Hague
You can also admire modern and contemporary art in some of the best museums in The Hague, both in their permanent collections and during temporary exhibitions.
Escher in het Paleis
Address: Lange Voorhout 74, 2514 EH The Hague | Click here for online tickets
A museum you should definitely visit in The Hague is Escher in het Paleis. It’s located in one of the former Dutch Royal residences, Lange Voorhout Palace, built in the 18th century. Besides some exhibits witnessing its Royal past, the museum is primarily dedicated to the work of a Dutch graphic designer, Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972). It’s home to more than 120 prints made by that imaginative artist.
In his woodcuts and lithographs Escher loved playing with optical illusions making him the most famous printmaker from the Netherlands. Some of the most famous artworks you’ll find in this museum in The Hague are his Belvedere, Waterfall, and Sky and Water. One of the museum’s highlights is the seven-metre-long Metamorphosis III.
Even some of the interior decoration made for the museum was inspired by M. C. Escher’s artwork, like the chandeliers created by Hans van Bentem and the wooden floors made by Donald Judd.
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Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Address: Stadhouderslaan 41, 2517 HV The Hague | Click here for online tickets
With its vast collection, Kunstmuseum Den Haag is a must-see place for all modern art enthusiasts. In its permanent collection, you’ll find artworks made by some of the well-known names from the Hague School, the Impressionists, Expressionists, and various 20th-century styles. It has artworks made by Dutch and international artists like Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, Egon Schiele, Johan Jongkind, Pablo Picasso, Henri Le Fauconnier, Jan Toorop, etc.
The museum is also home to one of the world’s largest collections of Dutch delftware and you’ll find many of its examples at its permanent collection. It also hosts one of the World’s biggest collections of Persian ceramics and glass. This museum in The Hague also has a fantastic collection dedicated to the history and development of fashion.
It’s also one of the best places in the Netherlands to learn about the most important Dutch modern style, De Stijl. The museum hosts the largest collection of artworks created by Piet Mondrian. His “Victory Boogiewoogie” is probably the most famous among them.
The museum hosts fantastic temporary exhibitions worth visiting The Hague for. Dior – A New Look, The Chanel Legend and Monet, The Garden Painting are just some I saw during the last few years there.
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The Hague is home to fantastic art and a place any art lover should visit. If you’re planning a trip to that Royal Dutch town, be sure to visit some of the best museums in The Hague from this list.
Have you been to any of these museums? Let me know in the comments!