Exhibition archive

Maurits Cornelis Escher used photography as a source of inspiration and as part of his preliminary studies, as was evident for the first time in the exhibition Escher, Close Up.

In the summer of 2016, Escher in The Palace showed how Escher spent his holidays. His whole life Maurits Cornelis Escher enjoyed the seaside. A selection of Escher's own photos were shown in the Ballroom. Bathing costumes from the 1920s and 1930s from the collection of Kunstmuseum Den Haag (formerly: Gemeentemuseum Den Haag) were also displayed. As icing on the cake, it was possible to photograph yourself in old-fashioned beachwear.

For the first time two Dutch museums with totally different backgrounds organised a common exhibition in which a comparison between Islamic art and the work of MC Escher was central: Escher & Treasures from Islam in The Hague and Escher meets Islamic Art in Amsterdam.

Escher in The Palace is housed in the former winter palace of Queen Emma, the Queen Mother. In Emma: Savior of Orange, a photo exhibition from her time in The Hague could be seen. In 1878, King Willem III married Adelheid Emma Wilhelmina Theresia, Princess of Waldeck − Pyrmont, 41 years younger. She was 20 years old at the time.

In 2008, Escher in The Palace was the first to exhibit the hats that were worn that year during Prinsjedag (Prince's Day). All female ministers and state secretaries and many members of the Senate and House of Representatives lent their hats for this exhibition in the Ballroom.