| Article number: | 2745 |
| Availability: | In stock |
| Delivery time: | Pre-order |
(Dutch) In 2025, it will be eighty years since the liberation of the Netherlands. For the Mauritshuis, this prompted extensive research into the events during the five years of war and occupation. This book, compiled by Frank van Vree (former director NIOD) and Quentin Buvelot (chief curator Mauritshuis), is the result of that research.
Like other museums in the Netherlands, the Mauritshuis faced major challenges during the war years, but with an important difference: the museum was located in the administrative heart of the country, right next to the Binnenhof and Plein, which was in the hands of the National Socialist regime. Director Wilhelm Martin did everything he could to safeguard the world-famous collection, which included works such as Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring and Fabritius' Puttertje.
With a combination of tact and daring, Martin tried to steer the museum through the war. He organised afternoon concerts to prevent the Nazis from seizing the building, but at the same time had to allow German and Dutch National Socialist bodies to organise propaganda exhibitions at the Mauritshuis. Each decision carried risks - for Martin himself, but especially for the museum. The dilemmas Martin wrestled with, and his strategy of yielding and resisting, resonate to this day. This book sheds new light on an eventful period in the history of one of the Netherlands' most iconic museums.
Exhibition 14 February to 29 June 2025, Mauritshuis The Hague
Edited by: Frank van Vree and Quentin Buvelot
Language Dutch
Pages 244
Format 24 x 28 cm
Binding style Bound
ISBN 9789462626027