Masters from the Museum Mesdag

22 January to 4 July 2010

The Dutch artist Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831–1915) assembled a unique and extensive collection of contemporary art including masterpieces by Gustave Courbet, Jean-François Millet, Théodore Rousseau, Jacob Maris and Jozef Israëls – artists whom Van Gogh greatly admired. His collection is housed in Museum Mesdag in The Hague, which forms part of the Van Gogh Museum.

Museum Mesdag is currently closed for renovation until winter 2010/11. In the run-up to the reopening, the Van Gogh Museum is staging an exhibition on its second floor which traces the story behind Mesdag’s collection based on his idiosyncratic acquisitions policy. The presentation centres on Mesdag’s exceptional collection of drawings, watercolours and pastels, almost never on show to the public.