27 August 2020
Due to the coronavirus (COVID-19), the museum programme for 2020-2021 has been adjusted.
The Mesdag Collection reopened on 3 June, and, as our visitors’ and staff health is of the utmost importance to us, we have taken all necessary measures to ensure that your visit is as safe and enjoyable as possible.
The 1.5 metre distance rule applies throughout the museum, the number of tickets available each day is limited, hygiene and safety measures have been taken and, should you have any symptoms on the day of your visit, you can reschedule your ticket free of charge. Please book a start time for your visit when you buy your tickets on https://tickets.demesdagcollectie.nl/en.
Upcoming Cultural Season at The Mesdag Collection
Mancini. Eccentric & Extravagant
Until 20 September 2020
The exhibition Mancini. Eccentric & Extravagant shows a range of work by Italian artist Antonio Mancini (1831–1915), including depictions of Italian circus boys, wonderful portraits of his international patrons, and accurate self-portraits.
The Dutch public was surprised how modern Mancini’s paintings were. From around 1883, for instance, Mancini – one of the most important Italian painters of his time – incorporated shiny pieces of glass and metal into his paintings.
Recognising Mancini’s talent, The Hague painter and collector Hendrik Willem Mesdag shipped some 150 works by Mancini to the Netherlands over the course of 20 years, to display and sell.
Mancini. Eccentric & Extravagant offers a fascinating view of the world of Mancini, including Mesdag and the salons of The Hague, as well as members of the British and Irish privileged class, whom Mancini portrayed in their opulent mansions.
The Network of Sientje Mesdag-van Houten. Female Artists in The Mesdag Collection
26 September 2020 to 14 February 2021
This autumn, The Mesdag Collection will display nine powerful works by female artists that have not often been displayed and show the importance of Sientje Mesdag-van Houten to female artists in the late 19th-century Netherlands.
The nine works, from the museum’s own collection, include work by Thérèse Schwartze and Suze Robertson. The works highlight how far ahead of their time Mesdag-van Houten and her husband, seascape painter Hendrik Willem Mesdag, were.
Together, they built a large collection of artworks, which they housed at Museum Mesdag (now The Mesdag Collection) in The Hague. A large number of works in their collection was by female artists, many of whom were personal friends. Sientje Mesdag-van Houten was an artist herself, and her work is also part of the presentation.
This presentation will be realised thanks to the generous support of the Rembrandt Association and the Turing Foundation.
