An Afternoon with the Immortal Dutch: the World Renowned Painters

Spending two hours with all the famous works of various Dutch painters is such a wonderful way to spend the afternoon. In fact, the Mauritshuis, which contain all these magnificent artworks, is just 500 meters away from my apartment and I always pass by the place taking its priceless collection inside for granted until today. Now I discovered its treasure and I do love them! Such talents! Such works that are so realistic that I can only praise them for the accuracy of their works… I mean, they are just like photos! Photoshopped photos! ^^


The Mauritshuise facadeThe pride of the house, or the banner painting is the one by Vermeer. It was done by Johannes Vermeer around/in 1665 with cloth as the material and a dimension of 44.5 by 39 cm. The Dutch title is “Meisje met de parel” or “The Girl with Peral Earring”. This painting has actually became the most beloved Vermeer by the viewing public.

Why is this painting so special? Who is the girl?. Where does this fascination come from? It must have something to do with the fact that the girl looks over her shoulder, as if she wants to know who is behind her. For example, the viewer directly to the presentation in question, as if he is the person who makes the girl look back. In the audio description, it was noted that the girl is unknown… mysterious… and that’s how the painter wanted it to be.

In the painting, equally important are the bright colors where Vermeer’s virtuoso painting techniques and the subtle way in which he suggested the reflection of light stand out. For example, the turban is enlivened with small light reflections - a trademark of Vermeer. Very particular is the pearl. It consists of little more than two paint strokes: left a bright light at the bottom and accent the soft sheen of the white collar. And then there is the girl themselves, that us a sensual, half-open mouth and glowing big eyes. She makes a fresh, slightly hesitant impression. For many it will generate sympathy, although we do not know who she is. – Now this description is by the experts of painting, not mine! I actually see this image everywhere here in the Hague and I thought it was a photo. Mind you guys, I am ignoramus when it comes to paintings. Thus, only when I saw them in reality, these stuff I only viewed in books before, that I could not believe those geniuses did existed!

The rest of the Top Ten Paintings include the following:

2. The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp by Rembrandt van Rijn -I saw this

3. The Putter (Goldfinch????) by Carel Fabritius (Is he Dutch? as he sounds not) - I did not see this

4. Self Portrait of Rembrandt van Rijn-I did not see this, I see the younger him "imitation" self portrait

5. The View of Delft by Johannes Vermeer-I did not see this...Oh gosh, where was I???

6. The Garden of Eden (Earth Paradise) with the Fall of Adam and Eve by Jan Brueghel de Oude with Pater Paul Rubens - I saw this at last!

7. "Soo voer gesongen soo na gepepen" by Jan Steen - I saw this and I love the theme of this painting!

8. The Bull by Paulus Potter - This painting intigued me so much... I had to listen to its story 3 times!

9. Portrait of Robert Chaseman by Hans Holbein de Jonge - I am not sure if I saw this one.

10. Vase of Flowers in a Window by Ambrosius Bosschaert de Oude

I may make subsequent posts about each one of the top ten or some of my chosen ones but am not so sure yet. All I could say is, I did enjoy seeing these and hundred or couple of hundreds more paintings.