The Royal Cabinet of Paintings Mauritshuis, reopened in 2014, as The Hague's top museum is officially called, is familiar to everyone, you might say. Every year, the institute on the Hofvijver attracts an average of 450,000 visitors. Much more is not even possible, as half a million is the critical limit.

"If you get above it, it gets really crowded," knows Boudewijn Koopmans, head of development and hospitality. "Our audience is critical. If it's too crowded, it comes at the expense of the experience and our ratings drop."

Nevertheless, Koopmans and his team are working focused on reaching new (and young) audiences. "You can't sit still. For success, you have to work," he argues. "Of course, because of the strength of the collection, you always attract an audience. But it's a little different from, say, the Van Gogh Museum, with its huge international appeal and located in Amsterdam."

Koopmans looks at visitors through analytical glasses. The Mauritshuis 'is watching you?" "No, we are not going to impose ourselves. But we do want to know who is coming and who is not. Look, you don't have to do much about one category: the "classic culture enthusiast''. They know us and pick up what we are doing from the media themselves."

'Urban omnivores'

Of interest to Koopmans is the growing group described as "city omnivores". "These come to The Hague for the city as a whole. They go shopping, eat out and go to the cinema or the theatre. THAT group doesn't automatically put us on their list yet. So we have something to gain there.

Take, for example, the exhibition by British horse painter Stubbs on show with us this spring, which is typically something for the urban omnivore."

Books and films

With Stubbs, you're talking about a temporary exhibition. At the heart of the Mauritshuis' story remains its own collection of masterpieces by Flemish and Northern Dutch masters from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. With Rembrandt, Rubens and Vermeer at the forefront.

Attention to Johannes Vermeer in particular has exploded in the last two decades. An important role in this was played by the book 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' (1999) by American-British writer Tracy Chevalier, a novel woven around the 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. Especially after the film adaptation in 2003, the 'Girl' became an international art icon.

George Stubbs, 'Whistlejacket' (c. 1762). Collection: National Gallery, London.

Something similar occurred more recently with 'The Goldfinch' by Carel Fabritius, Koopmans says. "American writer Donna Tartt published the novel 'The Goldfinch' in 2013, which centres on the painting. In 2019, the film was released, again fuelling interest in this small masterpiece. We can't complain about international attention."

Vermeer, Fabritius and Rembrandt - those are the top names, of course. But the museum aims for as broad a picture of the Golden Age as possible. So there are also works by Frans Hals, Jacob van Ruisdael, Paulus Potter ('The Bull'!), Jan Steen, Anthony van Dijck and many other masters on display.

"And the collection is still expanding," Koopmans says. "We have a lot, but there are always works that are still missing. And when opportunities arise to fill such a gap, we try to seize them. Fortunately, we also receive a lot of support from the Rembrandt Association, the BankGiro Lottery and our own Friends of the Mauritshuis Foundation. In recent years, it has been possible to acquire paintings by Daniel Seghers/Jan Cossiers, Pieter Lastman and Nicolaes Berchem, among others."

Mauritshuis Business Platform

In a general sense, Koopmans' mission is to "publicise" the Mauritshuis worldwide. Then, apart from reaching the public, it is also about raising money and relationships. For example, it subtly points out that you can support the museum with a bequest.

And since 2013, there has been a business club under the solemn name 'Confrérie Pictura', a reference to an old Hague artists' society. "We will continue with that under the name Mauritshuis Business Platform," Koopmans said.

'During the week, a school class can be found in the museum almost every day.'

"We noticed that the classic model with dinner parties for CEOs is not working as well these days. There is now more interest in content. This is why we choose to explain certain aspects of the museum in more detail at such meetings, such as technical innovation in research and restorations."

Members of the business club contribute to funding the museum's lifelong learning programme, among other things. This is aimed at adult visitors and consists of activities that deepen and enrich museum visits, such as lunch and drinks lectures, study afternoons, mini-concerts and meetings with specialists from the museum staff.

Spinvis

Back to the target groups for a moment. So we have had the classic culture lover and the urban omnivore. But now to the young. Koopmans: "We do a lot of education. During the week, a school class can be found in the museum almost every day. Last summer there was the family project 'Hello Rembrandt'. You could do all kinds of things. Take pictures, work with pigments, attend workshops. That was a great success."

Late last year, singer Spinvis (Erik de Jong) suddenly turned up at the 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'. "Yes, fun isn't it? That was the start of the music label 'See the Mauritshuis with your ears', where we ask artists to dedicate a song to a work from the museum. Spinvis chose Vermeer. Earlier this year, Merol (Merel Baldé, ed.) and Harry Jekkers followed suit. Another project is 'Mauritshuis&'.

A few times a year, a well-known Dutchman acts as 'guest director' on a Thursday night. He or she puts together a special programme. We have already had many interesting guests, such as Mark Rutte, Eva Jinek, Princess Laurentien and Erben Wennemars. With these evenings, we attract a relatively young audience. And so we keep trying to reach new target groups."

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