Welcome to our new “Museum of the Month” series, where we explore the treasure trove of culture right here in The Hague.
February’s Museum of the Month is the Panorama Mesdag. Have you been?
In 1880 Hendrik Willem Mesdag received the commission of a lifetime: to create an immense 360 degrees painting of his beloved Scheveningen.
The panorama shows an impressively painted beach and seaside scene: a vista of the sea, the dunes and the old Fisherman’s village Scheveningen. In the centre of the building that incorporates this panorama, an artificial dune has been created on a roundabout. From a viewpoint above the dune, visitors will see the same panorama as if they were standing on the Seinpost dune, the highest dune in Scheveningen at the time.
The oldest in the world
Mesdag’s panorama is one of the few remaining examples, and the oldest panorama in the world still in its original location. The Panorama opened on 1 August 1881.
The seascape is 120m in circumference and 14m high, it is the largest painting of the Netherlands.
2024 Exhibitions
From charming portraits of children to poignant scenes depicting child labour. For the first time, the museum is turning its full attention to the children who appear in the works of the Hague School painters, a neglected subject that has never before been presented in this way. The exhibition ‘Children of the Hague School: Playing, working, surviving’ is on display at Museum Panorama Mesdag until 20 May 2024.
Plan your visit
The Museum is open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10am to 5pm. All the information you need to plan your visit is on their website:
https://panorama-mesdag.nl/en/visit/
Tip: Do you have a Museumkaart yet?
Entry to the Kunstmuseum is included if you already have a Museumkaart. If you do not yet have one, you can purchase one at the Kunstmuseum (to then validate online within 5 days).
For more information visit: https://www.museum.nl/en/museumpass
Zestee 