🐦🪶 For Brancusi, art wasn’t about copying reality. It was about making an idea visible. 'L'Oiseau dans l'espace' seems to lift off the material, capturing movement and flight. Discover this and much more in the exhibition BIRDS - Curated by The Goldfinch & Simon Schama.
☁ Not only blue skies here today!
Guess the paintings behind these clouds...
Hint: all paintings can be found on our website (and in the museum)!
🔎 Enjoy the treasure hunt -> www.mauritshuis.nl
For a long time, we thought Vermeer's main patron was the collector Pieter van Ruijven. But new research by art historians Piet Bakker and Judith Noorman (The Female Impact / University of Amsterdam) tells a different story.... 👀 https://bit.ly/MariadeKnuijt
Stop and smell the roses!
This bouquet is so refined you can almost see the dewdrops. The flowers sit in a Chinese porcelain 'kendi', a type of water flask. Against the dark background, the flowers glow like fireworks in the night.
Jan Brueghel the Elder, Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase, c. 1610-1615
🤩 Judith rules the canvas!
A young woman sews calmly while a man waves coins, but she stays unimpressed. Judith Leyster painted this in 1631, as one of the few women artists of her time and the first female master in the painters’ guild.
Judith Leyster, Man Offering Money to a Young Woman, 1631
Clara Peeters was a master of hiding in plain sight!
If you look closely at the pewter lid of the jug behind the cheeses, you’ll spot her tiny reflection. A secret self-portrait tucked into her still life.
Clara Peeters, Still Life with Cheeses, Almonds and Pretzels, c. 1615
For this piece, Idolomantis, designer Iris van Herpen studied the flight of birds. Hundreds of fanning feathers, allowed the model to glide gracefully across the catwalk. 🦚
Discover more in BIRDS - Curated by The Goldfinch & Simon Schama, on view until 7 June.
🪳 Feeling a little itchy yet?
A mother combs her child’s hair, hunting for lice. The boy endures it with quiet resignation. But there’s more: in the 17th century, the lice comb symbolised purity.
Gerard ter Borch, Mother Combing Her Child's Hair, known as 'Hunting for Lice', c. 1652-1653
🌸 Van Aelst did things a little differently. No neat, symmetrical bouquet, but a playful diagonal composition full of light and shadow. The result is a still life that bursts with energy and luxury.
Willem van Aelst, Flower Still Life with a Timepiece, 1663
Luckily we trusted the process... 🐂✨
The restoration of The Bull by Paulus Potter is complete. ✅ Want to know more about the research and work that went into it? Visit our website for the full story. https://www.mauritshuis.nl/destier
🐦🪶 Carel Fabritius’ 1654 painting The Goldfinch and British (art) historian Simon Schama have brought birds from around the world to the Mauritshuis. BIRDS explores the complex relationship between humans and birds. How is it that we both admire and confine them?
📅 12 Feb – 7 Jun 2026
🫧 Bubble trouble, 17th-century style
This tiny painting is packed with detail: ruffles, ribbons, curls and those shiny soap bubbles.
This may look innocent, but the message runs deep: life is as fragile as a bubble, ready to burst at any moment.
Caspar Netscher, A Boy Blowings Bubbles, 1670
🌷 It's Valentine's day! Who needs a bouquet when one tulip says it all? ❤️
In our collection you’ll find this rare gem by Balthasar van der Ast. Just one tulip, fragile and striking, painted on a tiny panel.
Balthasar van der Ast, A Single Tulip in a Vase, c. 1625
🐦🪶 How can we both admire birds and cage them? What does that say about the way we relate to nature? Our exhibition BIRDS – Curated by The Goldfinch & Simon Schama explores our fascination with birds through works by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Iris van Herpen and many other artists.
🐦🪶 Now on view: BIRDS – Curated by The Goldfinch & Simon Schama
BIRDS explores our relationship with birds through artworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Pablo Picasso, Iris van Herpen and many others.
https://tickets.mauritshuis.nl/en/tickets
Most of the paintings we show are on view IN our museum, but this one puts the Mauritshuis itself in the picture. A true museum selfie!
Augustus Wijnantz, View of the Mauritshuis, c. 1830
From 12–15 February and 19–22 February 2026, we’re trying something new! During this period, extra hosts will be around to welcome you, answer your questions and share stories behind the artworks.
🕚 11:00-15:00
🧥 Spot our hosts by their jackets and language buttons
The final touches are being put in place... It's almost time for BIRDS to take off! 🐦🪶
From Thursday, 12 February, everyone is welcome to visit our new exhibition BIRDS - Curated by The Goldfinch & Simon Schama.
Silence. Light. And then… the song of praise!
Simeon lifts Jesus and bursts into a hymn. The light seems to glow from Jesus, soft yet all-encompassing. Mary and Joseph look on. In tradition, this moment is celebrated as Candlemas, 40 days after Christmas.
Rembrandt, Simeon's Song of Praise, 1631
💞 Jan Steen had a soft spot for cheeky stories! A young woman is being “examined” by a doctor, but don’t be fooled. She’s faking it! In the 17th century, doctors believed that a 'wandering womb' could only be cured one way: she had to go to bed with her lover ;)
Jan Steen, The Sick Girl, c. 1660
🚶♀️➡️ Historical content creator Faye Feller takes you inside the Prince William V Gallery!
The gallery is full of stories: about the urge to collect, looted art, and a remarkable woman. Discover them in the brand-new story on our website at mauritshuis.nl.
Teamwork makes the dream work!
2 Flemish giants on 1 canvas: Peter Paul Rubens & Jan Brueghel the Elder.
Rubens painted Adam, Eve, the serpent and the horse; Brueghel added a lush world of plants and animals.
Jan Brueghel the Elder & Peter Paul Rubens, The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man
🍓 Less is more 🍓
Just a handful of wild strawberries and a single flower, yet so powerful. Adriaen Coorte kept it simple in 1705, but today his still lifes are more popular than ever.
Adriaen Coorte, Still Life with Wild Strawberries, 1705
🌹 A small painting with one big star: the rose.
Some flowers have been set out with apparent nonchalance on the corner of a marble tabletop. The eye-catcher is a large rose with fragile petals. Two butterflies are alighting on the flower.
Jan van Huysum, Flower Still Life
🐦🪶 12 February – 7 June 2026 - BIRDS – Curated by The Goldfinch & Simon Schama
We can’t imagine life without birds. They symbolise freedom, beauty and love. But birds are also pets, a source of food or hunting trophies. What does our relationship with birds tell us about how we treat nature?
💙 Feeling a little blue? Art is the best medicine! #BlueMonday
🌷Today is National Tulip Day! Especially for you, we've hand picked this gorgeous selection from our own collection. What are your favourite flowers?
Still Life with a Bouquet in the Making, 1674
A Single Tulip in a Vase, c. 1625
Flowers in a Glass Flask, 1612
Flowers in a Wan-Li Vase, c. 1610-1615
And... check! ✅😄 The restoration of The Bull by Paulus Potter (the biggest work in the Maurithuis!) is officially completed.
We're so happy with the end result and all the things we learned along the way about the way Potter worked. Thanks to all of you for following along. 🩷
Nobody’s perfect!
In this painting Gerard Houckgeest used 'diagonal perspective' to get this wide view. And yes, even masters make mistakes. Check the tiles on the right: those are a little crooked.
Gerard Houckgeest, Ambulatory of the Nieuwe Kerk in Delft with the Tomb of William the Silent, 1651
Always look at the bigger picture... There might be a suprise! 🐂👀
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