Mauritshuis Building for the Future
Mauritshuis Unveils Preliminary Design
Ambitious extension will create more space and opportunitiesThe Hague, 22 June 2010 – The preliminary design for the 22 million euro project ‘Mauritshuis building for the future’ was unveiled today.
The ambitious design links Plein 26, the Art Deco building opposite the Mauritshuis in The Hague which is part of the Nieuwe of Littéraire Sociëteit de Witte, with the museum by means of an underground foyer, thus doubling the square footage and increasing its potential. The project is expected to be completed by mid 2014.
Eminent Dutch architect Hans van Heeswijk’s preliminary design, in which light and clarity are prominent, does justice to the international status of the Mauritshuis. The facilities will be expanded to include a new exhibition hall, an auditorium for lectures and conferences, and an education space. A new entrance will be created at the front of the building so visitors will fully appreciate its elegant façade. The shop and the café will also be refurbished.
‘Mauritshuis building for the future’ will increase public access to the best of Golden Age Dutch painting by creating more space and new opportunities. Emilie Gordenker, Director of the Mauritshuis: “The extension will prepare the museum for the requirements and demands of the twenty-first century, while retaining its characteristically intimate ambience.”
The budget for the project is 22 million euros. The extension to the Mauritshuis has been made possible thanks to support from the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the BankGiro Lottery, touring exhibitions, private individuals, funds and institutions.
Mauritshuis
A city palace designed by Jacob van Campen, the Mauritshuis was built in the seventeenth century next to the Hofvijver in the heart of The Hague. Almost 400 years later, the Mauritshuis is a museum of international excellence. The renowned collection of seventeenth century Dutch and Flemish masters attracts more than 200,000 visitors annually from all over the world.
Mauritshuis Building for the Future
‘Mauritshuis building for the future’ is an ambitious extension project that will enable the Mauritshuis to fulfil its mission: to share the best of Golden Age Dutch painting. By creating more space and opportunities, the extension will make the Mauritshuis more accessible to everyone.
An underground foyer will link the museum with the premises across the road at Plein 26. The square footage of the museum will double, thereby creating more space for the display of art, exhibitions, education and other programming. The entrance, which will be moved to the forecourt, will be in keeping with the Mauritshuis’s international reputation. The museum shop and the café will be completely refurbished. The project will be completed by mid 2014.
The Project at a Glance
- An underground foyer linking the city palace to the premises opposite at
Plein 26.
- Renovation of the city palace.
- Plein 26 is part of the Nieuwe of Littéraire Sociëteit de Witte.
- Almost double the current space, from 3,400 m2 to 6,400 m2.
- New entrance in the forecourt.
- Permanent education space for children.
- New facilities: an auditorium, flexible exhibition spaces and offices.
- New location and design for the museum shop and the café.
- Improved facilities for the disabled.
The Design
Hans van Heeswijk Architects has provided the preliminary design for ‘Mauritshuis building for the future’. An architect with more than 25 years’ experience in the restoration and renovation of historic buildings, Hans van Heeswijk has created a design for the Mauritshuis that focuses on ‘light’ and ‘clarity’.
Financing
The budget for the project is €22 million. The extension to the Mauritshuis has been made possible thanks to support from private individuals, funds and institutions. In 2009, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science increased its annual subsidy to the museum by €1.5 million. The BankGiro Lottery added €2.6 million. Funding will also be raised by the touring of some 50 works, including the iconic Girl with the Pearl Earring by Vermeer, to Japan and the USA in 2012.
The Building
The premises at Plein 26 are part of the Nieuwe of Littéraire Sociëteit de Witte. This long building currently takes up one complete block of houses, and is situated in the centre of The Hague near the Binnenhof, between the Doelenstraat, Lange Houtstraat, Plein and Korte Vijverberg.
The history of this block of houses can be traced to the seventeenth century. At that time, an unbroken row of four residential homes were built between the Plein and the Doelenstraat. At the end of the eighteenth century, a coffee house, notable for its white façade, was established in the third house off Lange Houtstraat. The Nieuwe of Littéraire Sociëteit set up in this white-gabled coffee house in 1802, and ‘De Witte’ itself became the owner of the house in 1820.
Due to the rapid increase in membership, the club soon ran out of space and the two adjacent buildings were bought for the extension starting in 1820. Over time, all the premises on the north side of the Plein were acquired by the Sociëteit. The building’s current design was brought about in three stages.
In 1870, it was decided to demolish the three premises housing the Sociëteit and to rebuild them. In the same year, a spacious society building was constructed based on a design by architect C. Outshoorn. In 1900, a new wing designed by architect J. Mutters Jr. was added to the building with an interior, also to his design, in Art Nouveau style.
The last extension was completed on the Mauritshuis side of the building in 1930, in the Art Deco style of architect J. Limburg. The building was then given a symmetrical façade that took up the entire north side of the Plein with a semi-circular corner on the Korte Vijverberg side. Both the interior and exterior of the building were made more sober and the lavish Art Nouveau interior was replaced by one in the Art Deco style.
The building is listed as a monument and almost the entire interior was extensively restored in close collaboration with the Netherlands Department for Conservation at various stages in the 1990s. At that time, the Stortenbeker ceiling in the Oude Conversatiezaal was returned to its former glory and the Barzaal was fully restored in 2007.
Building Plans
Autumn 2010 Final design
2011 Call for tenders
Early 2012 Construction begins at Plein 26
Second quarter 2012 Renovation of city palace begins
Mid 2014 Project completion
The Mauritshuis as a Museum
The collection of the Mauritshuis is the property of the Dutch state. The oldest part of the collection consists of the paintings owned by the stadholder, Prince Willem V of Orange-Nassau (1748-1806) in the eighteenth century. He inherited part of this collection, but also acquired a number of paintings himself. His collection was originally exhibited in the Prince Willem V Gallery in the Buitenhof.
Many important paintings in the Mauritshuis came from this collection, such as The Bull by Paulus Potter, The Young Mother by Gerrit Dou, The Garden of Eden by Jan Brueghel the Elder and Peter Paul Rubens, and Hans Holbein’s Portrait of Robert Cheseman.
After the French invasion in 1795, Willem V was forced to flee to England. His collection of paintings was taken by Napoleon to Paris and put on display in the Louvre. It was not until twenty years later, in 1815, that most of the collection was returned to The Hague. A year later it was donated by King William I (1772-1843) to the Dutch state, and from then on was called the Royal Cabinet of Paintings. The paintings were originally returned to the Gallery on the Buitenhof, but this building soon proved to be too small, and the Royal Cabinet of Paintings was moved to the Mauritshuis in 1822.
The Collection
The Mauritshuis collection has grown significantly over the last two centuries from some 200 paintings in 1822 to around 800 today.
William I added various masterpieces to the core of the collection, many of which are still favourites with the public: View of Delft by Johannes Vermeer, View of Haarlem with Bleaching Fields by Jacob van Ruisdael, The Lamentation of Christ by Rogier van der Weyden and, last but not least, Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt.
The Mauritshuis only embarked on a deliberate acquisition policy in the eighteenth century. In those days most works entering the collection were either purchases funded by the Dutch state following the director’s recommendation or else were donations made by private individuals.
Financial support from non-governmental sources is now indispensable. The unstinting support of the Rembrandt Society (a private initiative committed to the preservation of works of art) has enabled the museum to buy a number of paintings. The Friends of the Mauritshuis also regularly help the museum with acquisitions. Since 1999, the Mauritshuis has received part of the proceeds from the Sponsor Lottery, known as the Bank Giro Lottery from 2004. This money is reserved for the acquisition of art works.
In all these years it has never been the intention to form a collection that represents an art-historical overview. The museum strives chiefly to enhance its strong holdings by enlarging the collection with important paintings by leading artists. It concentrates on the best represented areas of the stadholder’s collection: Dutch and Flemish painting.
The original collection has been enriched with a large number of exceptional paintings, including such popular works as Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer, The Goldfinch by Carel Fabritius,Self-Portrait and Portrait of an Old Man by Rembrandt, Laughing Boy by Frans Hals and The Oyster Eater by Jan Steen. Two magnificent portraits by Rubens have also been added to the collection.
The Public
The Mauritshuis is an essential part of any visit to The Hague, due to its central location next to the Binnenhof along the Hofvijver and the intimate nature and unique quality of the collection. The museum receives some 200,000 visitors a year from home and abroad. It regularly organises extraordinary temporary exhibitions, the themes of which are always related to its permanent collection.
The Mauritshuis’s magnificent collection of paintings and the building offer a range of educational opportunities. The museum has various programmes for visitors of all ages. There is no admission fee for young people up to 18 and a free audio tour is available in seven languages. Guided tours are available in various languages on request.
Admission fees 2010 (including audio tour in several languages)
From 12 November 2009 until 28 February 2010
Exhibition Philips Wouwerman
Normal admission fee € 13,50
Admission groups of adults € 12,00 (minimum 15 persons)
Admission fee for tour operators € 11,50
- CJP-card € 8.25
- Museumcard € 3.00
- Children up to 18 free
- ICOM free
- Rembrandt Society free
Permanent Collection
Normal admission fee € 10.50
Admission groups of adults € 9,00 (minimum 15 persons)
Admission fee for tour operators € 8.50
- CJP-card € 5.25
- Museumcard free
- Children up to 18 free
- ICOM free
- Rembrandt Society free
Exhibition Room for Art
Normal admission fee € 12.00
Admission groups of adults € 10.50 (minimum 15 persons)
Admission fee for tour operators € 10.00
- CJP-card € 6.75
- Museumcard € 1.50
- Children up to 18 free
- ICOM free
- Rembrandt Society free
Exhibition The Young Vermeer
Normal admission fee € 12.00
Admission groups of adults € 10.50 (minimum 15 persons)
Admission fee for tour operators € 10,00
- CJP-card € 6.75
- Museumcard € 1.50
- Children up to 18 free
- ICOM free
- Rembrandt Society free
Permanent Collection
Normal admission fee € 10.50
Admission groups of adults € 9.00 (minimum 15 persons)
Admission fee for tour operators € 8.50
- CJP-card € 5.25
- Museumcard free
- Children up to 18 free
- ICOM free
- Rembrandt Society free
Exhibition Made in Holland
Normal admission fee € 13.50
Admission groups of adults € 12.00 (minimum 15 persons)
Admission fee for tour operators € 11.50
- CJP-card € 8.25
- Museumcard € 3.00
- Children up to 18 free
- ICOM free
- Rembrandt Society free
- Admission fees Due to a number of exhibitions planned for 2010, varying entrance fees will apply for different periods. These prices are subject to change. Prices are listed per person.
- Audio tours Audio tours are included in the entrance fees. Groups are requested to make reservations for audio tours in advance. Please mention the preferred language and number of persons.
- Booking Please pre-book your group visit or make a reservation for a guided tour; call +31 (0)70 302 3435, email communicatie@mauritshuis.nl or visit www.mauritshuis.nl. Communicate number of persons, date, time and preferred language. The fee for a guided tour (available in several languages) is € 65,- (max. 15 persons per guide).
- Opening hours Tuesday through Saturday 10 am – 5 pm
- Sunday 11 am – 5 pm
- From 1 April to 1 September 2009 also open on Mondays 10 am – 5 pm
- Special opening hours may apply on holidays.
- Friday 2 April, Good Friday open10 am − 5 pm
- Sunday 4 April, Easter open 11 am − 5 pm
- Monday 5 April, Easter Monday open 10 am − 5 pm
- Thursday 30 April, Queen’s Birthday open 10 am − 5 pm
- Wednesday 5 May, Liberation Day open 10 am – 5 pm
- Thursday 13 May, Ascension Day open 10 am − 5 pm
- Sunday 23 May, Whitsun open 11 am − 5 pm
- Monday 24 May, Whit Monday open 10 am − 5 pm
- Tuesday 21 September, open 3 pm − 5 pm
- (Opening Parliamentary year)
- Sunday 5 December, St. Nicholas open 11 am − 4 pm
- Friday 24 December, Christmas Eve open 10 am − 4 pm
- Saturday 25 December, Christmas Day Museum closed
- Sunday 26 December, Boxing Day open 11 am − 5 pm
Friday 31 December, New Year’s Eve open 10 am − 4 pm
Information Mauritshuis
- Visiting address Korte Vijverberg 8, The Hague
- Postal address Post box 536, 2501 CM The Hague
- Tel +31 (0)70 302 3435
- Fax +31 (0)70 365 3819
- Internet www.mauritshuis.nl
