The Mesdag Collection, Art museum in The Hague, Netherlands.
The Mesdag Collection is an art museum in The Hague displaying paintings, drawings, and decorative arts from the 1800s. The holdings were assembled by marine painter Hendrik Willem Mesdag and his wife Sientje, and include French, Dutch, and Japanese works.
The marine painter began collecting artworks in 1866 and built up a significant collection over decades. In 1903, Mesdag handed over the building and works to the Dutch state, where they have been open to the public as a museum ever since.
The collection displays works from the Hague School and French artists arranged in rooms furnished as they were in the 1800s. Visitors see how educated residents of that era chose to surround themselves with art and objects in their homes.
The museum occupies a 19th-century residential building and displays the collection in its original rooms. Visitors should know that narrow staircases and smaller chambers create an intimate experience but may present access challenges.
The museum houses one of the largest collections of French Barbizon School paintings outside France. Painters like Corot, Rousseau, and Millet are represented with several important works rarely seen elsewhere in the world.
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