The Netherlands is home to some seriously great artists (old and new), and several fantastic museums. I love all kinds of art, and have more pictures than walls in my house. It was a real struggle not to purchase more as I hopped around museums and galleries in Amsterdam and The Hague, but the thought of having to carry it for the next few months won over so I took only hundreds of photos of things I loved 🙁 I normally have quite a short attention span in museums, but I have discovered a love for Dutch artists and how they capture emotion and light on canvas. The paintings are not boring, they’re often cheeky and funny, and show everyday life instead of stuffy royals. And I found a street art gallery which is my fave style. So irreverent and provocative. The Hague was really interesting to visit – it is the home of the Dutch parliament and home to the international court of justice. It also has the Mauritshuis, which is a museum housing the royal picture gallery and a range of art from 1400-1800, including wonderful pieces by Rembrandt, Jan Steen and Vermeer (and the original Girl with the Pearl Earring AND the Goldfinch). It’s only 50 minutes by train from Amsterdam so very easy to get to on a day trip. In Amsterdam I visited the Rijksmuseum which is amazing (the iAmsterdam sign used to be close to here, but it was removed end of last year), the Moco street art museum which has a huge collection of Banksy originals, and the Van Gogh collection. And there is way way more if you have the time and tolerance.
Soundtrack for today is Elvis Costello’s Every Day I Write The Book 🙂
Amsterdam canals are pretty 
as is The Hague 
So realistic, could be a photo 
Wow 
Would be a shame not to 
Medicinal 🙂 
Bitteballen (right) taste like a potator top pie that’s blended and deep fried, dip in mustard 
Apple pie 🙂 
Duck with a peral earring ha ha ha 
Pickled herring to go hmmmm no 
I remember this book! 
The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam 
Rembrandt self portrait 
Vermeer 
So real! 
Ha 
Love this casual portrait of King William with his dog 
Van Gogh 
He used self portaits a lot, cheaper than hiring a model 
Vermeer 
🙂 
Pen and ink on canvas, beautiful 
How you doin 
Wow 
Banksy 
I want I want 
I want I want 
Orange cake 
Raspberry pistachio cake 
Oh dear 
Genius artist, what a shame support for mental illness wasn’t in place when he was alive 
Made my own art 🙂 
I want I want 
