Philip and Phyllis’s primary goal in going to The Hague was to see Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring and The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius. Philip loves these two works and has painted copies of them for himself. It was a cold, blustery and rainy day but we headed out anyway.
Sandy took this picture because of the man in back of Phylis wearing wooden shoes.Our train took us through the flower growing regions of Holland. We were going too fast for good pictures but you get the idea of colorful fields.Initially we thought these to be tulips but they are actually Daffodils and Hyacinth.Walking from the station to the town center was very windy and cold but the street was quite eclectic. This is entering a small Chinatown. We stopped for coffee and a scone at an English Tea Room.This colorful set of stairs had a changing motif. It seemed to change as people walked on it.Beautiful Old architecture.This museum was built in the 17th century as the residence of John Maurits who was the nephew of William of Orange. In 1704 the interior was destroyed by a devastating fire. It was refurbished and given a new interior. A century later in 1822 the Mauritshuis became a museum.Philip and Phylis were so happy to see this in person because in 2014 it was banned from travel and will no longer be lent out. We were in NYC in 2014 and saw it at the Frick Museum which was the last museum it was lent out to. The information on the ad behind Philip explained that the painting was not a portrait but a “tronic” which is a painting of an imaginary figure. Tronics depict a certain type of character, in this case a girl in exotic dress, wearing an oriental turban and an improbably large pearl in her ear.Here is Johannes Vermeer’s famous Girl with a Pearl Earring dated c. 1665. This is one of the best known paintings of all time, coming a close second only to The Mona Lisa. So much so that it has often been referred to as the Mona Lisa of the North. Vermeer was a master of light as you can see in the tones in the face and the glimmers of light on her moist lips and of course the shining pearl.This is Philip Steen’s painting of Girl with a Pearl Earring c. 1990. He also made the frame.The home/museum is beautiful.In 1654 Fabritius, a gifted student of Rembrandt painted one of his most extraordinary pictures titled The Goldfinch. It is a lifelike portrait of a little bird pictured against a white wall. That same year, at the age of 32 he was killed in his workshop when a gunpowder warehouse exploded in Delft.Philip Steen’s Goldfinch c.2022Jan Steen, The Doctor’s visit c.1660-1662.Escher Museum seen from the Mauritshuis.To coincide with the Rijksmuseum Frans Hals exhibit the Mauritshuis has hung four paintings of his together. Hals is one of the most famous and most extraordinary Dutch painters of the 17th century. Portraits of Jacob Olycan and his wife Aletta are impressive in the costume detail and their size.The Mauritshuis is officially called the Royal Picture Gallery Mauritshuis. In the early 19th century the collection consisted of some 300 artworks, which has since grown to around 850. The core of the collection is made up of the best of Dutch 17th century paintings of Rembrandt, Vermeer, Steen and Hals which hang side by side by side in an illustrious 17th century city palace.
In spite of the inclement weather we really enjoyed our brief visit to The Hague. Phyllis and Philip accomplished their desires and we will be returning on the 17th and 18th of April with Donna Quirk and her brother Mark to see the International Court of Justice, have a nice dinner and spend the night.
I enjoy seeing the artists work. When I visited Rembrandts collection in 1969…still life caught my eyes. The ability to see through buttetfly wings. Seeing the Escher museum, my eye caught the water reflections of muted clouds, pinks/green/blue with wind and raindrops. Then noting its a photograph. Stunning. Artist Phillip your creations at 18 are marvelous. Thank you for the trip down memory lane. Smiles, Kathleen
All your posts are so interesting. I particularly loved this one. First, it is always nice to see my cousins. 2 nd
The paintings became even more interesting because of their personal connections. Looking at Philip’s impression of the Girl with the pearl ear ring beside the original was great.3 rd because we had been looking at paintings, when I first saw the view out the window, I thought it was a painting. Such interesting water. When looking closely one can see the raindrops on the glass. Great photo so glad you included it.
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