Mauritshuis

A still life with snacks - and a sneaky self-portrait. 😲 Lieve shows you where to look.

Clara Peeters, Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels, c. 1615

Pretty but a bit spooky…

🪲 At first this bouquet looks like pure flower power, but look closer: thorns in the middle, creepy crawlies (yes, even a rhinocerous beetle), and heavy shadows give it a darker vibe.

Roelant Savery, Vase of Flowers in a Stone Niche, 1615

What if... Paulus Potter's The Bull was part of a weather forecast? 🐂⛈️

Rob Sluijter from @knmi.nl (the Dutch Meteorological Institute) takes us back to the early summer of 1647. What can we learn from the clouds behind the bull, and what are the weather predictions in Potter’s painting?

🤩👧 "You just keep looking" - Karlijn 

What happens in your brain when you look at the Girl with a Pearl Earring? We investigated this with the help of brain scientists. The results are pretty amazing. Check out www.mauritshuis.nl/meisje.

Long before the pearl, Vermeer painted big biblical & mythological scenes.

Here’s Diana, goddess of the hunt & the night, hanging out with her nymphs. Hound at her feet, moon on her forehead... yes, that dreamy Vermeer vibe is already there. 

Johannes Vermeer, Diana and her Nymphs, c. 1653-1654

Meet... the Frans Hals siblings! Did you know we have become co-parents? 😄 

Girl Singing and Boy Playing the Violin (c. 1628) by Frans Hals or now on view at the Mauritshuis.

🧳🇮🇹 What do you do when a volcano erupts? 

A. You get the hell out of there.
B. You come closer to watch 😅

Discover this moment up close in 'The Grand Tour – Destination Italy', on view until January 4.

🖼️ Talk about flexing your art collection!

Not a real gallery, but a kunstkamer = basically a 17th-century art mood board. Left: Apelles paints Alexander the Great’s lover. Alexander loved it and said: “You keep Campaspe, I’ll keep the painting.”

Willem van Haecht, Apelles Painting Campaspe

What the ***...?! 😲🌿

What would you do with this branch? On the one hand, it's part of the historical story of The Bull. On the other hand, it's not how Paulus Potter intended the painting to look. So... keep or toss? 🤔

Follow along for more about the live restoration of the Bull by Paulus Potter.

Up close with The Bull by Paulus Potter 🐂👀

Isn't it fascinating to see the hand of the master at work? We are still restoring this amazing piece of work. You can witness the entire process live at the Mauritshuis until the end of 2025.

🐌 Slow Sundays are the best days!
This snail escaped from 'Vase of Flowers' (c. 1670) by Jan Davidsz de Heem!

2/2 What’s going on in this strange little doctor’s visit? Lieve reveals the hidden story behind this painting. 👀

Godefridus Schalcken, The Doctor's Examination, c. 1690

Love is in the air! Or not? 

A young woman writes a song, a man peeks over her shoulder. The lute symbolizes harmony in love. 

But above the fireplace you see a stormy sea. A reminder that love isn’t always smooth sailing?

Gabriel Metsu, A Young Woman Composing a Piece of Music, c. 1664

Once you start looking at Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, you simply can't take your eyes off her. 🎶👧

We investigated this with the help of brain scientists. Curious about how we conducted this research and what the results are? Go to https://bit.ly/ResearchGirl

🇬🇧 There → Here 🇳🇱

Normally hanging at Burghley House, this portrait shows Brownlow Cecil, 9th Earl of Exeter. It was painted by Angelica Kauffman when she was just 22, but already really famous. Check it out at our exhibition ‘The Grand Tour - Destination Italy’.

👀The Mauritshuis is watching you!
Do you recognise these paintings?

Okay, we'll tell you 😇 Here are the answers:
- Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, c. 1665
- Carel Fabritius, The Goldfinch, 1654 
- Rembrandt, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp, 1632
- Paulus Potter, The Bull, 1647

🧳🇮🇹 What insaaaane patience looks like... 🤯

This small panel by Cesare Aguatti captures the Temple of Vesta in Rome. If you look close, you’ll see it’s made of microscopic mosaic tiles, carefully arranged to form a Roman ruin.

Check it out at our exhibition ‘The Grand Tour - Destination Italy’.

✨ The Mauritshuis doesn’t just show art, it has been shining on paintings for ages too.

Gerrit Adriaensz Berckheyde, A Hunting Party near the Hofvijver in The Hague, Seen from the Buitenhof
c. 1685-1690

🤎🧡 Who doesn’t love the beautiful colours of autumn!

This work is part of a series on the seasons. Originally made to hang above the doors of a grand house in Amsterdam. The paintings were separated, but are now reunited at the Mauritshuis. 

Nicolaes Pietersz Berchem, Allegory of Autumn

1/2 What’s with the bird and that warning finger? Lieve spills the tea. ☕️

Godefridus Schalcken, A Useless Moral Lesson, c. 1690

🦪 Fancy an oyster? 

Jan Steen knew exactly what he was doing. In the 17th century oysters were seen as the ultimate aphrodisiac… and just look at her, she’s clearly offering more than just a snack!

Jan Steen, Girl Eating Oysters, c. 1658-1660

🇬🇧 There → Here 🇳🇱 

Pompeo Batoni’s elegant portrait of Thomas William Coke has travelled all the way from @holkhamestate to the Mauritshuis. An impressive souvenir of his Grand Tour! Now on view at the exhibition 'The Grand Tour – Destination Italy'. 👀 Tickets via link in bio.

Those big, shiny eyes 👀 … but what do they mean?

Is she carefree? Curious? A little sad? Or totally in love? ❤️

Vermeer left the corners of her eyes blurry, so we have to fill in the blanks. That’s why everyone sees her differently.

Johannes Vermeer, Girl with a Pearl Earring, c. 1665

What’s going on in this strange little doctor’s visit? Lieve reveals the hidden story behind this painting. 👀

Godefridus Schalcken, The Doctor's Examination, c. 1690

It’s that time again... 🕰️ Tonight, the clocks go back one hour as winter time begins in the Netherlands (and many other countries). That means: one extra hour of sleep… or one more hour to admire these 'timeless' watches by Pieter Claesz, Willem van Aelst, Willem Claesz Heda and Abraham van Beyeren!

Ehm... this doesn't seem quite appropiate? 🤔

What’s really happening in 'As the Old Sing, So Pipe the Young' by Jan Steen? Lieve is here to spill its secrets...

Flower power in the 17th centrury! Balthasar van der Ast shook things up in the world of flower still lifes. Instead of cramming in every bloom possible, he kept it simple: just a few flowers, painted with a looser, fresher touch.

Balthasar v.d Ast, Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase with Shells, c.1640-1650

🇬🇧 There → Here 🇳🇱

This bust usually watches over elegant dinners at the British country house Holkham Hall in Norfolk. 🍷 Now, it’s a guest at the Mauritshuis, as part of our exhibition 'The Grand Tour – Destination Italy'. Come check it out! Tickets via link in bio.

‘As the old sing, so pipe the young’. Adults set the vibe, and the kids follow!

Look at dad (yep, Jan Steen himself!) laughing while teaching his kid to smoke a pipe. Steen was the king of chaotic storytelling and a brilliant painter.

Jan Steen, 'As the Old Sing, So Pipe the Young', c. 1668-1670

CHEERS! 🍸🍋‍🟩

Look at those details! Who is joining you for a drink?

🥂 Pieter Claesz, Still Life with Tazza, 1636
🥂 Willem Claesz Heda, Still Life with a Roemer and Watch, 1629
🥂 Pieter Claesz, Still Life with Lighted Candle, 1627