Five centuries of Dutch art
- c.1450–1516Hieronymus Bosch
Strange, crowded visions of heaven and hell, from 's-Hertogenbosch.
- c.1582–1666Frans Hals
Lively portraits with loose brushwork, in Haarlem.
- 1606–1669Rembrandt van Rijn
Master of light and shadow; The Night Watch (1642) is in the Rijksmuseum.
- 1626–1679Jan Steen
Chaotic, humorous household scenes; "a Jan Steen household" still means a mess.
- 1632–1675Johannes Vermeer
Quiet interiors in soft light; only around 35 paintings survive.
- 1853–1890Vincent van Gogh
Over 800 paintings in about ten years, from The Potato Eaters to Sunflowers.
- 1872–1944Piet Mondriaan
Co-founder of De Stijl, famous for grids of primary colours.
- 1898–1972M.C. Escher
Impossible staircases and tessellations, beloved by mathematicians.
Where to see them
| City | Highlights | |
|---|---|---|
| Rijksmuseum | Amsterdam | Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals, Steen |
| Van Gogh Museum | Amsterdam | The largest Van Gogh collection |
| Mauritshuis | The Hague | Girl with a Pearl Earring, View of Delft |
| Frans Hals Museum | Haarlem | Hals's group portraits |
| Kröller-Müller Museum | Hoge Veluwe | Van Gogh and modern art in a national park |
| Kunstmuseum Den Haag | The Hague | The largest Mondriaan collection |
| Escher in Het Paleis | The Hague | Escher in a former royal palace |
A Museumkaart gives you a year of free entry to most of these. More in top attractions and Dutch history.
A century of Dutch design
- 1903Berlage's Beurs
The stock exchange building in Amsterdam breaks with historical styles.
- 1917De Stijl
Theo van Doesburg, Piet Mondriaan and Gerrit Rietveld reduce design to lines and primary colours.
- 1918–1923Rietveld's Red Blue Chair
An icon of modern furniture.
- 1919+The Amsterdam School
Expressive brick housing, such as Het Schip in Amsterdam.
- 1924Rietveld Schröder House
Utrecht; UNESCO World Heritage since 2000.
- 1993Droog Design
Witty, conceptual Dutch design takes over the Milan furniture fair.
- 2013–2021Rotterdam's new icons
De Rotterdam (OMA), the Markthal and Depot Boijmans (MVRDV).
Where to see Dutch design
Book a tour via the Centraal Museum in Utrecht.
The Amsterdam School in a working-class housing block.
Cube houses, Markthal, Erasmus Bridge and the Kop van Zuid towers.
Every October in Eindhoven.
Mondriaan and De Stijl.
Royal Delft still paints pottery by hand.
Sources
This article is based on these official pages. If anything here differs from them, the official page is right.