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A Pelican and other Birds near a…
Melchior d'Hondecoeter, c. 1680, painting, SK-A-175
Melchior d’Hondecoeter specialised in depicting birds. Here he painted a pelican, various ducks, a cassowary (left), a flamingo and an African crested crane. D’Hondecoeter was commissioned to paint the work by Stadholder William III and his wife Mary. It was intended for Het Loo palace, where…
On display in room 2.22
Dolls’ house of Petronella Oortman
anonymous, c. 1686 - c. 1710, furniture, BK-NM-1010
The exterior of this dolls house is a work of art in its own right, with its mother-of-pearl and pewter veneer. The owners’ initials - Petronella Oortman and her husband Johannes Brandt, a cloth merchant in Amsterdam - are inlaid on both sides. Remarkably, all the domestic furnishings were made…
On display in room 2.20
Winter Landscape with Ice Skaters
Hendrick Avercamp, c. 1608, painting, SK-A-1718
Hendrick Avercamp turned the winter landscape into a subject in its own right. A typical feature of his early work is the high horizon. This enabled Avercamp to focus on the dozens of figures on the ice. He showed all kinds of uncouth details in this bird’s-eye view, including couples making love…
On display in room 2.6
Interior of the Sint-Odulphuskerk…
Pieter Jansz Saenredam, 1649, painting, SK-C-217
Once a Catholic church, St Odulphus’s passed into Protestant hands at the start of the Dutch Revolt against Spain. The artist shows a service taking place. Worshippers are listening to the preacher on the right in the pulpit. Sermons are the main feature of a Protestant service. Saenredam came…
On display in room 2.14
Portrait of Gerard Andriesz Bicker
Bartholomeus van der Helst, c. 1642, painting, SK-A-147
Bartholomeus van der Helst portrayed both Bickers, father and son. The difference between the two generations is striking. The father is dressed in sober black, wearing an old-fashioned millstone ruff. His son Gerard - here about twenty - appears in a colourful, flamboyant costume, with a flat…
On display in room 2.18
Layette Cupboard
anonymous, c. 1660 - c. 1670, furniture, BK-1985-10
Flower, fruit and shell patterns are carved into the walnut veneer of this cupboard. It was designed to hold nappies (diapers) and babies’ clothes. Old inventories of lying-in rooms mention these cupboards. The Dutch term is: ‘luiermandskast’.
On display in room 2.19
View of Olinda, Brazil
Frans Jansz Post, 1662, painting, SK-A-742
Tempted by Brazil’s sugar plantations, in the 1630s the Dutch captured much of Portugal’s colony on South America’s western coast. They were forced to withdraw in the 1650s. Frans Post went to Brazil from 1636 to 1644 to sketch and paint the country and its inhabitants. Back in the Netherlands, he…
On display in room 2.10
Woman in a Large Hat
Caesar van Everdingen, c. 1645 - c. 1650, painting, SK-A-5005
This woman with her wide sunhat and seductive, bared shoulder is similar to the enticing shepherdesses that often appear in Dutch paintings. She proffers a small basket of fruit to the viewer in an unmistakably erotic gesture. The picture was originally intended to be displayed high on a wall, above…
On display in room 2.11
Model of the William Rex
Adriaen de Vriend, Adriaen Davidsen, Cornelis Moerman, 1698, ship model, NG-MC-651
Model of a 74-gun Dutch battleship. It was made in Vlissingen (Flushing) and displayed in the boardroom of the Zeeland navy in Middelburg. The decorative stern sports the arms of Zeeland. In fact no such ship actually existed. The name William Rex refers to William III of Orange, the Dutch…
On display in room 2.15
Twee toiletkoffers
André-Charles Boulle (attributed to), c. 1685 - c. 1690, BK-2009-255-1
These magnificent showpieces were made by Europe’s most celebrated cabinetmaker: André-Charles Boulle. He probably made them for Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé who gave them to his daughter Marie-Thérèse when she married. The boxes have lids so they can be used for storage, although that is…
On display in room 2.23