Pentimenti – Stephan Vanfleteren Among the Masters

A 21st-century perspective on 17th-century paintings at the Mauritshuis

18 Feb 2026

The Mauritshuis has invited Belgian photographer Stephan Vanfleteren (b. 1969), one of today’s most highly-rated photographers, to produce new work, which will be on show from 23 April in Pentimenti – Stephan Vanfleteren among the Masters. Sixteen photographs, fifteen of them new, all inspired by 17th-century paintings in the museum’s collection, will be displayed among the masterpieces. Vanfleteren was involved in a previous project with the Mauritshuis – the anniversary exhibition FLASH | BACK (2022). The impressive photograph he produced for that exhibition, inspired by Rembrandt’s The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp (1632), will be on show again in Pentimenti. The exhibition is sponsored by Stichting de Johan Maurits Compagnie, the VriendenLoterij lottery and Fonds 'De Opzet'.

Hidden meanings

Martine Gosselink, director of the Mauritshuis, asked Vanfleteren to take another look at the museum’s collection, with a view to initiating a visual dialogue between past and present. To walk together through the museum’s 16 rooms, looking for hidden meanings, lessons and messages that paintings from four decades ago can share with us today. What were the intentions behind these masterpieces? What remains of the ideas and visions that the artists wished to capture? And what do these paintings have to say to today’s world? Vanfleteren’s photographs enter into a conversation with the paintings, bringing a 21st-century interpretation to iconic 17th-century artworks, in a contrast that is sure to fascinate visitors.

Pentimenti

Vanfleteren has produced a photograph for each room in the museum that captures the essence of a specific painting or theme. This will give visitors the opportunity to look at the old master paintings through the eyes of a photographer, and perhaps gain new insights. Vanfleteren also considered pentimenti, Italian for ‘mistakes’. In the context of painting, the word refers to corrections that artists made to their work during the painting process. Vanfleteren takes the word pentimenti literally: what mistakes have been revealed throughout the history of humanity, at a micro and macro level? He thus challenges the classical artworks, capturing them anew in a way that brings them to life again. His photographs play with reflection, contrast and symbols, deepening the meaning of the original work.

Flemish and Dutch

A unique book is being published to accompany the exhibition. During the creative process, Vanfleteren and Gosselink wrote to each other. This exchange of correspondence – in which they discussed the Mauritshuis collection, art in general, and the value and meaning of artworks, as well as the world around them – has now been compiled into a book. An intimate account of their exchange of ideas about artworks, their meaning in today’s world, and the hidden stories in the paintings, the letters reflect their views on art and on life, the differing views of a man and a woman, one Flemish, one Dutch, and of a maker and a manager. The book thus not only presents an account of the museum’s history and collection, but is also a personal exchange between two people who operate in very different sectors of the art world.

Een intiem zelfportret van Stephan Vanfleteren tegen een donkere achtergrond. Zijn ogen zijn nauwelijks zichtbaar. — Stephan Vanfleteren CU Portrait Natacha Hofman

Fragility and beauty

Stephan Vanfleteren, known for his raw and honest images, has always captured the fragility and beauty of people and of life. His work touches on themes like life, death, the power of nature and the reciprocal nature of our existence. Vanfleteren, a photographer of international renown, adds a new layer to the already rich history of the Mauritshuis, giving us his own profound, personal vision of 17th-century painting.