Program Itinerary Academy Art Museum June 2017 ! Protours Ltd. T: +31 (0) 15 214 3797 P.O. Box 3306 T - USA +1 (347) 748 1817 2601 DH Delft E: [email protected] The Netherlands Program Itinerary - June 2017 !1 of 8! Program Itinerary Academy Art Museum June 2017 ! Day 1, June 2, (Friday) 2017 (Reception /Dinner) Arrival at Amsterdam airport and meet your guide who will be with you for the duration of the program. Transfer by private motor coach to Apeldoorn for check-in to the Keizerskroon Hotel, beautifully situated next to Palace ’t Loo. The rest of the afternoon is free for you to rest and enjoy the facilities of the hotel, or take a bicycle ride or walk in the nearby park of ’t Loo. Evening reception and dinner at the hotel. Overnight in Apeldoorn. Day 2, June 3, (Saturday) 2017 (B/L/D) Morning visit to the Kroller-Muller museum. The Kröller-Müller Museum is named after Helene Kröller-Müller (1869-1939) who dreamt of creating a ‘museum-home’. This dream came true in 1938 when the Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller opened its doors with Helene as its first director. Helene began collecting art around 1905. The idea arose when she and her daughter enrolled in a course in art appreciation that was taught by H.P. Bremmer, an educator in the arts. Inspired by his lessons, she began collecting art herself. In 1907 she made her first purchase: ‘Train in Landscape’, by Paul Gabriel. Helene Kröller-Müller’s collection grew rapidly. After a few years she was the owner of the largest private Van Gogh collection in the world (not counting that of the Van Gogh family itself). During her lifetime she purchased approximately 11,500 art objects. A visit will also be made to the spectacular St. Hubertus Hunting lodge located in the park. Built in the 1910s by Berlage as the private residence of the Kroller-Muller family. Lunch today in the park. In the afternoon return to Apeldoorn for a visit to Palace ’t Loo. The former royal residence Het Loo near Apeldoorn, Netherlands, was built starting in 1684 for Stadtholder William III and his consort, Mary II of England. For over three hundred years, Het Loo was the summer residence of the House of Orange-Nassau, which became the Dutch royal family. In 1960 Queen Wilhelmina declared that when she died the palace would go to the State. It did in 1962, when Wilhelmina died at Het Loo Palace. After a thorough restoration it now houses a national museum and library devoted to the House of Orange- Nassau in Dutch history. Het Loo also now houses the Museum van de Kanselarij der Nederlandse Orden (Museum of the Chancery of the Netherlands Orders of Knighthood), and books and other material concerning decorations and medals form a separate section in the library. The lost gardens of Het Loo were fully restored starting in 1970, in time to celebrate its tricentennial in 1984. !2 of 8! Program Itinerary Academy Art Museum June 2017 ! In the evening depart for Castle Middachten. The first mention of Middachten appears in the year 1190, and although the castle dates from the early Middle Ages, the current house was built towards the end of the 17th century. Middachten is unique in that it is still a real, working estate. Besides the castle, park and gardens, the estate also includes farms, woods and agricultural land. Middachten has never been sold but has always passed from one generation to another. As a result of this, the interior of the castle is complete and still has many of the original household effects, including a large collection of portraits and much 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th century furniture. The castle also has the original cupboards filled with collections of china, silver and glass- wear, and antique linen. The management of the estate is in the hands of the 25th Lord of Middachten, Count zu Ortenburg. The Middachten gardens came into existence at the beginning of the 18th century. Shortly after the rebuilding of the castle was completed in 1697, a formal baroque garden was laid with box hedge parterres. In the second half of the 18th century fashions and the taste of the inhabitants changed and the gardens were altered. The parterres gave way to glowing slopes and winding paths. At this time the English Landscape style was in fashion. The gardens as you see them now came into being around 1900 when the garden architect, Hugo Poortman, brought back elements of the former baroque style into the landscaped gardens, keeping trees, as far as possible, in his “neo” baroque garden. Here we will have dinner in the beautiful dining hall of the castle with Count zu Ortenburg followed by a private tour of the castle. Late evening return to the Keizerskroon Hotel. Overnight in Apeldoorn. Day 3, June 4, (Sunday) 2017 (B/L/D) Morning check out of the hotel and drive in the direction of the Hague. Stop on route in lovely town of Delft for lunch and a walking tour around the artist Vermeer and a visit to the Vermeer Centre before continuing on to the Hague. !3 of 8! Program Itinerary Academy Art Museum June 2017 ! At the end of the afternoon we make a visit to the Museum Voorlinden, which houses the private collection of Joop van Caldenborgh. Mark Francis, a director of the London Gagosian Gallery, who visited the Voorlinden at the time of its opening, said that the private museums were “rarely as well realised as this one.” “Every aspect of it is beautifully thought through,” he said. “To be able to do it, to have both the eye and the resources, it’s an unusual combination.” Check-in to the Des Indes Hotel. Dinner this evening at a local Indonesian restaurant where you will enjoy a rice table dinner. Overnight in the Hague. Day 4, June 5, (Monday) 2017 (B/L) Morning sightseeing and orientation in the city before we make our first stop at the Mauritshuis museum. Welcome by director Emily Gordenker and tour of the collection with Quinten Buyelot. Morning visit and tour of the collection. Lunch at a local restaurant. After lunch we visit the beautiful Gallery of Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder ! located just opposite the Mauritshuis museum which specializes in old master paintings. Hoogsteder & Hoogsteder are father and son - John and Willem Jan. John Hoogsteder has been dealing in paintings since the late 1950s. He is well known from his television appearance in the Dutch version of the Antique Roadshow called ‘Tussen Kunst en Kitsch’. Willem Jan studied Art History at Utrecht University and at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. After running a gallery in New York, he joined his father in The Hague, also appearing in the Dutch program “Tussen Kunst en Kitsch”. We can have a program at the gallery with Willem Jan explaining how to interpret and look at 17th century Dutch painting. Possible visit to a private contemporary art collection. Dinner on your own and evening at leisure. Overnight in the Hague. Day 5, June 6, (Tuesday) 2017 (B/L/D) Morning check out of the hotel. and drive to Haarlem for a tour of the Frans Hals Museum prior to its normal opening hours. The Frans Hals Museum houses the largest collection of Hals' work in the world, as well as !4 of 8! Program Itinerary Academy Art Museum June 2017 ! works by other Haarlem Old Masters of the Golden Age. The earliest paintings are primarily biblical and date from the 16th century. Furniture, ceramics, glass and silver are also on display. We walk the short distance for lunch at Restaurant ML. We will be joined at lunch by Pieter Biesboer, an art historian and a prolific writer on 17th-century Dutch art. After lunch Pieter Biesboer will take us on a walking tour of Haarlem, including a visit to the Church of St. Bavo. The building of the church extended over a long period of time, beginning with the erection of the choir in the 14th century and addition of the transept in the mid-15th century. The tower was built in 1520 and the baptistery in 1593. Most of the interior furnishings date from before the Reformation, including the choir and its lectern (1499). Here we will have a private concert at St. Bavo, given by Anton Pauw, to demonstrate the church’s famous Christian Müller Organ. The Christian Müller Organ is 30 meters high and has 5,068 pipes. The organ was constructed between 1735 and 1738 by Amsterdam organ builder Christian Müller. Handel and Mozart both have played it, Mozart when he was 10 years old. The organ features 25 larger-than-life woodwork figures carved by Jan van Logteren. From here we will walk to the Teylers Museum for a tour of the museum and a special “behind the scenes” visit to its exquisite Library. By special arrangement, there will be a private presentation of the museum’s impressive compendium of Dutch 17th-century master drawings, including works by Goltzius, Avercamp, Ostade and Rembrandt. This is the first and oldest museum in The Netherlands, created to house exhibits selected by the owner, Pieter Teyler (1702-1778), a wealthy Mennonite merchant and banker, who left a substantial legacy to the pursuit of religion, arts and science in his hometown. Teyler’s collection of objects references the literary, cultural and scientific age of Enlightenment. Afternoon continue to Amsterdam. Hotel check in to the Pulitzer Hotel. Dinner in the evening in the Brasserie of the hotel.