Art stories

People travel to The Hague from all over the world to see Johannes Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring in the flesh. Or dream of coming here. But why is she so famous? We don’t know why exactly. We do have some theories, but we can’t explain it entirely. And maybe we don’t really want to – a little mystery suits the Girl.

How do stolen paintings end up at the Mauritshuis? And shouldn't they be returned, or is this more complicated than it seems at first glance?

The little bird that Carel Fabritius painted in 1654 has flown around the world. Just what is it that makes this rather ordinary European goldfinch so attractive?

Discover why there were many more female artists in the 17th century than you think.

Rembrandt is the Netherlands’ best-known artist. But why is that? What makes his paintings so special?

You might expect only paintings of chic ladies and gentlemen with big, white collars in our museum (and there are some), but we also have lots of animal paintings. Because animals and people, they belong together. And that was also the case in the past.

The attic of the Mauritshuis is the home of our conservation department, where our conservators Carol Pottasch, Sabrina Meloni and Abbie Vandivere, spend every day examining and restoring our paintings.

The Mauritshuis was built as a residence for Johan Maurits van Nassau-Siegen. Who was this man?

Most of the paintings at the Mauritshuis are more than 300 years old. But they don’t look old at all. How come? Find out here.

Your ear is more than a receiver of sound. It is a gateway to your memories, your desires, longings and dreams. If you know how to open it, your view of the world changes. Suddenly you no longer see a 17th-century painting, but a part of yourself.