10 Art Museums in South Holland Province That You Shouldn't Miss

Sculpture garden Clingenbosch is situated on the Clingenbosch estate, a stone’s throw away from museum Voorlinden. More than sixty works by national and international artists can be admired here, including Henry Moore, Sol LeWitt, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Carel Visser and Atelier Van Lieshout. Guided tours take place every Thursday from May to October from 15.00 to 18.00 hours.

The art cube is a place where art and architecture come together. With the original living layout intact, this cube house forms the backdrop for the work of various artists. The art merges with the unimaginable forms of the interior and forms part of the house. The exhibited art is about Rotterdam or comes from Rotterdam artists. The unique combination of architecture, art and contemporary life forms a total experience of the city of Rotterdam, accessible to young and old.

The monumental Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, designed by the architect H.P. Berlage in 1935, is perfect for wandering around in. It houses a varied collection and many changing exhibitions. You will find the world’s biggest collection of works by Piet Mondrian, the highlight being his last abstract work Victory Boogie Woogie, along with some of the finest works by artists of the Hague School, paintings by Picasso, Kandinsky, Van Gogh, Monet, Toorop and many contemporary artists. Gemeentemuseum Den Haag also houses one of the biggest and best collections of Delftware.

The Mauritshuis is home to the very best of Dutch Golden Age painting. The compact, yet world-renowned collection, is situated in the heart of The Hague, right next to the government centre. Masterpieces such as Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp by Rembrandt, The Goldfinch by Fabritius and The Bull by Potter are on permanent display in the intimate rooms of this seventeenth-century monument.

This place is temporarily closed.

Museum De Lakenhal is the visual arts, history and crafts museum of the city of Leiden. The city’s illustrious past is highlighted in seven collection presentations, including The Cradle of the Golden Age, Leiden University City, The Siege and Relief of Leiden, and Seven Centuries of ‘Leids Laken’. The internationally renowned collection contains numerous highlights such as Lucas van Leyden’s ‘Last Judgment’ (approximately 1526-27), beautifully stained glass, and paintings by Rembrandt and contemporaries. Since 1874 the museum has been located in a monumental 17thcentury hall for woollen fabrics, carefully restored in 2017-2019 and expanded with modern architecture. The unique encounters between past and present that occur here make Museum De Lakenhal a source of inspiration for all!

The National Museum of Antiquities is housed in an old monumental building and ‘Begijnhof’. It is the Dutch centre for archaeology. A large part of the collection consists of objects related to ancient Egypt. Unique is the two thousand year old Egyptian temple in the central hall of the museum. Besides ancient Egypt, the museum covers the Middle East, the Classical world and the early history of the Netherlands. The entire collection consists of more than 80,000 objects, including statues of Roman emperors, Etruscan tomb finds and mummies.

Escher at the Palace is dedicated to the work of Holland’s most famous graphic artist M.C. Escher. Nearly all his prints are exhibited, among them Belvedere, Drawing Hands, Waterfall and Ascending and Descending. Here you can see how Escher changed fishes into birds, made water flow upstream and his less known, but very attractive early Italian landscapes. On our main- and first floor you can see how his work progressed from depicting the real world to his constructed worlds. Optical illusion is a key word in his work.An optical illusion depicts something which is in fact impossible. M.C. Escher was a master in this field. An optical illusion literally means doing puzzles with your eyes. The visitor will be able to unravel some of Escher’s mysteries like the Impossible Penrose Triangle by constructing one himself. The extra presentation “In the Eye of Escher” shows various themes in which Escher was involved, like reflection, perception and perspective.