2015 Mesdag Year in The Hague with reopened Panorama Mesdag

This year, the city of The Hague (Netherlands) is celebrating the renovation and reopening of Panorama Mesdag. In this 100th year-of-death of its painter, also the cultural legacy of Mesdag in The Hague is being celebrated.

In the late 19th century, Mesdag put the city on the cultural map, both nationally and internationally. In addition to being a marine painter, Mesdag was an entrepreneur, collector, organizer, Maecenas, and an important source of inspiration for many painters from The Hague School. He and his wife, painter Sientje van Houten, also built the largest collection of paintings from the French School of Barbizon outside France. Since the 19th century, Mesdag and the city of The Hague have been interwoven.
During 2015, several museums in The Hague are showcasing the many faces of the city’s icon with a range of exhibitions, symposia and events. Panorama Mesdag, The Mesdag Collection, Louis Couperus Museum, The Hague Municipal Archives and Municipal Museum, RKD (Netherland Institute for Art History), and the artists association Pulchri Studio have teamed up to showcase a range of exhibitions, concerts, culinary events and walking tours.

(by Ernst Storm)