Adventure in Amsterdam - 12.11.10

Although I was tempted to take the tram because of the cold I decided to spend my day walking instead. It ended up being a good decision because it was the best day I've spent in Amsterdam. Lately, I've been very conscious, once again, about memory. All these new memories I've made seem to bring old memories with them. "I saw this and it reminded me of you..." is a phrase I've used often here. I've also started going back and reading my previous blog entries. This part astounded me: "It is funny sometimes how things tend to come full circle....Now you can see how all these memories of mine are connected in their own strange way. Or in my mind, at least. I'm going to keep making lists and I'm going to keep remembering. In less than a week, after I step onto that plane destined for Amsterdam, I'll have new memories to share with you. I hope you're ready." So, I've been sharing all sorts of experiences with you but everyone has baggage. I try my best to live in the present moment and not dwell on the past or think too much about the future. But every place I've been and every person I've met is part of me. I carry it all with me. So, I hope you don't mind the times I have (and will) share old memories alongside new ones. Everything is connected, you know.

Walking towards Amstel and Waterlooplein
I knew it was one of my last times in the city, so I made it a point to notice all sorts of charming details. That made it hard for me to get through the flea market at Waterloo without buying a few things. I made away with some excellent purchases but I can't tell you about them because they're Christmas-sensitive items.







Alexander the Great at The Hermitage
I'd seen posters for this exhibit at the train station in Purmerend a few weeks ago and since then I'd been aching to go. Partly because I hadn't been to the Hermitage yet but mostly because I love Alexander. It was the best Classics centered exhibit I have ever seen. It was very well organized and provided a portrait of Alexander from his lifetime and beyond. Cameras were not allowed inside and I forgot to bring in my little notebook to record facts, realizations, and favorites. At first, without my usual pen and paper, I felt so naked but I enjoyed moving from artifact to artifact without stopping. Everything in the exhibit belongs to The Hermitage's permanent collection in St. Petersburg. It was structured thus: introduction/cultural context, areas conquered, legacy, portrait, and influence on European monarchies (specifically Russia's Catherine the Great.)


"This episode from the history of Alexander the Great comes from Plutarch. During a siege of a fortress in Bactria, the eastern part of the Persian state of Darius III, Roxane - daughter of a Bactrian satrap or nobleman - was captured. In an effort to gain the support of the Persian aristocracy, Alexander married her. Rotari here shows Alexander's meeting with Roxane, who is surrounded by weeping slaves and stands modestly before the amazed military commander."Image and Caption Source

It opened with this painting by Pietro Rotari (Italy, 1756). From this moment onward I was full of passion. It may sound silly but tears began to pull behind my eyes because I suddenly felt so much. I always tend to become rather tender in the face of art and history, but even more so when it comes to certain eras or figures. Alexander, of course is one. I felt the sweet weight of memory. I remembered learning about him for the first time in elementary school and proposing that when Owen was born his middle name be that of the great Macedonian. Then I remembered the Greek History class at Gustavus in the fall of my sophomore year. Reading about him. Writing about him. Discussing his cultural influence and his legacy. Study sessions with some of my favorite friends. Honestly, it was one of the best classes I ever took. Mostly because of the ladies in it with me but also because of it being about Ancient Greece.


Study guide timeline - Democracy (?)

It was like I was visiting an old friend for the afternoon. If you don't know much about Alexander and are interested in learning more or exploring the exhibit digitally, the exhibit's website is very informative. Read an introduction here and check out the highlights here. For me, the highlights included: engraving's of Charles Le Brun's paintings of Alexander's life for King Louis XIV's palace, a wood relief based on Le Brun for Catherine the Great's lover, Italian armor from the 16th century depicting the Greek heroes Alexander admired, Scythian burial artifacts, Indian busts of Buddha depicting the influence of the Greek "wet look," Russian cameos of the Trojan heroes commissioned by Catherine the Great. I was very pleased that the cameo collection also included woman such as Iphigenia and Cassandra.

Many European monarchs tried to emulate Alexander. Catherine the Great had an instruction book created for her grandsons, Constantine and Alexander, based on events from Alexander the Great's life. I found it most interesting that even in Venice, a staunch republic, Alexander was revered not for his kingly greatness but for his humanity and good deeds. No matter how history represents him there is no denying that he should be counted as one of the most important figures of the Western world. Perhaps even the greatest.






Music in Dam Square
One of my favorite aspects of my European travels is the street music. Every city I've been to has musicians playing in public, guitar cases open for coins. Dam Square almost always has someone playing on the weekends. One night, while passing through with friends, I heard James O'Reilly singing. The weekend Caitlynn was here we listened to Giovanni Bassano and his guitar for a bit. I was impressed both times and then on this particular adventure into Amsterdam I was lucky enough to catch them together. Giovanni on guitar and James singing. You can easily guess what their home countries are and that I'm more than a little bit in love with them both. Both countries and both musicians, that is. They played in the afternoon and again later in the evening. I stood in the crowd both times taking pictures and video. A little boy was in complete awe and refused to be part of the audience. He wanted to stand close and no matter how many times his mom called him over or his father tried to guide him back to his buggy, he wouldn't budge. I bought James' CD and have been swooning every time I've listened to it this week.

A Brief History of Hutspot

A few weeks ago Anna served what she and Robin called a "typical Dutch dinner during the winter" - a potato dish called hutspot. We had it again Monday night. It was the perfect meal on such a cold and wet day. I was looking up the recipe so I could make it for my family when I got home and I discovered that it has an interesting history.

The dish supposedly originated during the Spanish occupation of Holland. The people of Leiden were starving to death so William of Orange (of whom you can read about here) came to the rescue. He flooded the city so that his fleet could sail in and save the day. The Spanish were expelled and legend says that a little boy gathered the vegetables they left behind. Everything was mashed and cooked all together: potatoes, onions, and carrots. Thus, hutspot was born.

Unfortunately, I don't have a picture for you. Some leftover hutspot is still sitting in the fridge but after a few days it doesn't look particularly appetizing. So, to keep this post from looking so bare here are some pictures of the children in the jack-o'-lantern masks I made for them last week in the spirit of an American Halloween.

Adventure in Sweden - 09.23.2010

No visit to Sweden would be complete without some Viking ruins, beautifully designed furniture, and some red houses, right? After two days in Stockholm we took the train back to Västerås where I stayed for the remaining two and half days of my visit. I think it is a common misconception that you've "seen" a country if you've been to it's capital or most well-known city. If you've been to Rome then that counts as seeing Italy. If you've been to Paris, then that is France. But I think any real traveller understands that there is no microcosm for any culture, language, or country in the form of a busy city. Yes, I saw and learned many things in Stockholm but my time in Västerås is what really made my visit to Sweden so enriching. And usually museums tend to be the highlight when I visit places, just out of personal preference, but I think this day was my favorite of all. It had most of my favorite things: yoga, tea, autumn, ancient things, and great company.




Read and see more after the jump!

Adventure in Sweden - 9.22.2010

We stayed the night at Suzanne's cousin's apartment which has beautiful top floor views of Lake Mälaren. Most museums don't open until 10am so we were able to sit and have coffee with the owners when they returned in the morning from France. Maybe it is a Swedish thing but I found everyone I met there to be very good conversationalists. The coffee was always really good too.





Nordic Museum
This is Sweden's largest museum of cultural history. In 1880, the founder, Artur Hazelius, adopted "känn dig själv" as the motto. Originally from temple of Apollo in Delphi, it translates to mean "know thyself." I left knowing a lot more about Sweden's fashion and traditions.






The first exhibit was the "Power of Fashion: 300 years of clothing." By showcasing clothes from three three decades (1780's, 1860's, and 1960's) it demonstrated how social groups used clothing to create their identity. I took a history of costume class at college and a 20th century fashion class while studying in Italy but it was a different experience to learn about Swedish fashion.



"Traditions, Celebrations and Festivals from the Cradle to the Grave" was also very interesting because some things like Midsummer and various elements from Christmas were carried over in my family. The same goes for the section of the museum about design.



Vasa Museum
Statistically, this is the the most visited museum in all of Scandinavia. I admit, that the main reason I wanted to go was because I knew my brothers would have been dying to see it had they been there. A big ship from the early 17th century which sunk before it had even travelled one nautical mile out of the harbor? Yeah, it is a true story. The Vasa was a warship built for King Gustavus Adolphus' navy in an attempt to strengthen it's forces. It was the largest of the five ships intended to increase the fighting force against Sweden's enemies like Poland and Denmark.

The reason for it's sinking can be put into simple terms: it did not have proper ballast. Although the ship is too large to fit in a single photograph at once there are seven floors to the museum from which can see every portion from top to bottom.






It turned out that going just to show off the pictures to my brothers and having the bragging rights to hang over their heads wasn't the only advantage. Gustavus considered himself a pretty big deal and had the ship decorated with elaborate wood carvings of various Roman iconography in order to express his power. Once again I found that no matter where I go - no matter how far North of Rome I find myself - Classics is always there waiting for me.






Shopping
In summary, Stockholm was wonderful, amazing, epic, and every other adjective of greatness one can imagine. However, the only con was trying to find suitable souvenirs. What does one buy when one's family already has dala horses of every size, carved trolls and Tomtars, Pippi Longstocking dolls, Viking gear, wood butter knives, and everything by Astrid Lindgren? I love Swedish handicrafts but I was limited on suitcase space for my flights back to Holland. In the back of my mind I knew I should just give in and buy something just to say "Hey, I bought this in Sweden" but I couldn't bring myself to cop out. So, I ended up buying one t-shirt for my brothers to fight over and some wall hangings for my mom and two grandmothers which I will decorate myself with paints (but I don't want to give away the details in case they're reading this.) For myself, a headband of Lapland wool. Note to all travelers: don't let yourself get too wrapped up in buying gifts for others - you deserve something after all that walking and picture taking. You deserve something of your own so that when someone comments or compliments when you wear it you can say, "Oh, this old thing? I bought it when I was in Sweden." And then you can remember, briefly, those two days you spent in Stockholm. But really, how could you ever forget a city as great as this?

Adventure in Sweden - 9.21.2010

When traveling it is always best to not have any expectations. Expectations risk disappointment and they close your mind to the full experience. There were a few places I was interested in seeing when Siv and Suzanne took me via train from Västerås to Stockholm, but I was more excited simply to just be there. Since I had no real expectations I enjoyed every moment, even when we were walking down seemingly unremarkable streets. And after the first few hours on the first day of two I think I had already decided that Stockholm is my new favorite European city, despite the fact that my heart is still so full of Florence that there are always echoes from Italy no matter how far north I go.






More pictures and text after the jump...

Adventure in Sweden: An Introduction

Tomorrow I will begin a seven day sequence of posts about my seven days in Sweden. It would be impossible for me to include every detail and much will be left out. Some unintentionally so. In order to prevent any confusion I shall set the stage.

I stayed in Västerås which is approximately 53 minutes west from Stockholm by train. It sits on the shores of Lake Mälaren which stretches all the way to the Baltic Sea. Every night, except two, I was hosted by my mother's Swedish "sister", Suzanne. I brought one suitcase. I took over five-hundred pictures. I had the time of my life.


Grandma Sue.


In order to give you a sense of what going to Sweden meant to me I shall tell you a story.*

Once upon a time in Sweden there was a girl named Greta who fell in love with a boy named Emil. Emil left Sweden for the great land of opportunity, America. Greta had to wait until she was twenty-one before she could join him. Her family was sad to see her go, especially her sister, Helga. In 1920 Greta traveled to the US all by herself and married Emil. Not too long after the birth of their first child, they bought a beautiful new house on Rose Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. They raised six children in that house. Five girls and one boy. One of the daughters, Susan, is my maternal grandmother.

Every three months Helga would receive a letter from Greta in the US with updates on her children and life in the US. After some time these letters began to include updates on her grandchildren. My great-grandmother Greta died barely a year after I was born. All that is left of the one time I met her, when I was too young to remember and too chubby to walk just yet, is a photograph. My mother named me after Emil by combining two female names she liked that still echoed his.

Helga also had many children. The youngest is Siv. My grandmother and Siv are cousins. While growing up Grandma Sue returned to Sweden with her parents a few times through the years to visit the branches of the family that remained in the homeland.

In 1972-1973, Siv's stepdaughter, Suzanne, lived and went to John Marshall High School with my mother. They have stayed in touch since. I met Suzanne and her son Erik, who is two years younger than me, for the first time in 2000 when they visited the US. I was twelve at the time and I don't think I had any concept of how big the world is and how small it can be at the same time. Or how it is such a blessing to have a family full of history and love. Flash forward ten years and four generations down. Emil and Greta left Sweden but Sweden never left my family. And I finally got to go "home."

*Some details are not precise. I'll have to double check my facts but this is a true story.

Adventure in Amsterdam - 09.11.2010

The weather has been on my side the past few weekends which means everything for my city strolls. This weekend I stayed the night with some fellow au pairs but I had the day to myself and my museumkaart. I haven't been to the Museumplein since I went to the Van Gogh Museum. I'm a bit more familiar with the city now so instead of being worried about getting lost this time I enjoyed the walk down Nieuwe Spiegelstraat and Spiegelgracht which Frommer's describes as "one of Europe's finest antiques-hunting grounds." It was warm enough for bare legs so I wore a new pencil skirt (not recommended for bike rides.) For lack of a better phrase, it was a beautiful day.



At the end of Spiegelgracht and the entrance to the Museumplein is Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum. I had to keep my camera tucked away after the security check but I made sure to take notes for you all.

Rijksmuseum
The main building has been under renovation since 2003 but all the most famous paintings of the permanent collection are on display in the Philips Wing. Appropriately titled "The Masterpieces" the exhibit provides a thorough glimpse of the Dutch Golden Age. It felt like a continuation of what I saw in Delft at the Prinsenhof. The design and descriptions were quality and I didn't even bother keeping track of time. I had the day to myself and my love for museums.




It was organized by the following: Dutch Republic, World Power, Frans Hals, Rembrandt and his pupils, The later Rembrandt, and Johannes Vermeer.

In the 17th century, after the expulsion of Spanish rule through the Eighty Years War (1568-1648), the Netherlands became an independent state. It became a republic. The Republic of the Seven United Provinces. Then it quickly became one of the leading European nations and thus was constantly fighting with its neighbors and rivals at sea. Merchants of the Dutch Republic became very wealthy by trading abroad via the Dutch East India Company (Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie or VOC) which operated mainly in India/Asia and the Dutch West India Company (Geoctroyeerde Westindische Compagnie or GWIC) which operated mainly in Africa and the Caribbean. The museum had its own wealth of artifacts from this era:

· Dollhouses: One of the most interesting ways the wealthy, specifically the wives of wealthy men, showed off their success was by commissioning dollhouses. Craftsmen created miniature version of the actual house down to the smallest detail. One house on display had furniture crafted by artisans as far away as Asia.

· Silver: Paulus van Vianen and his brother Adam were the most famous Dutch silversmiths. They invented the auricular style which is thus named because it resembles the folds of an ear. Evidentially this was the exact intention because Paulus was said to have been inspired by anatomy lectures he attended while visiting Prague.

· Delftware: During the first half of the 17th century Dutch pottery consisted mostly of simple utensils painted with a lead glaze called faience. With the powerful rise in trade abroad exquisite Chinese porcelain was imported and became fashionable. In 1657 a civil war in China disrupted trade so faience potters in Delft began to imitate the luxury style. Eventually Delft gained a monopoly over the market by combining European and Asian elements to create a Delft style, better known as Delftware. Queen Mary II of England (aka: the Mary in the William and Mary) was a great admirer and commissioner.

The Catholic Church was no longer able to patronize the arts in the new Dutch Republic. Instead, the rich burghers held the political power and the purse strings. In the absence of religious commissions Dutch artists were able to concentrate on new genres: landscapes, portraits, and still life. Enter Rembrandt and Vermeer. I've already discussed the latter here so what can be said in brief about the former? Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was an apprentice to the painter Pieter Lastman of Amsterdam. Upon completing his training Rembrandt returned to his native Leiden and shared a studio for several years with Jan Lievens. In 1631 Rembrandt settled in Amsterdam and became a prominent figure in the art scene. The Rijksmuseum has his "Night Watch" which is his most famous work and one of the largest paintings I think I've ever seen in person - 10in x 14ft 4in. It used to be even larger but had to be cut down in 1715 when it was moved from its original location to the Town Hall. The painting was made for and depicts the the Arquebusiers, a militia group thus named for their arquebus guns. One of the advantages of its size is that more people can crowd around it. One of the advantages of that is being able to get a spot close enough to examine it. My favorite effect was how the hand of the central figure, Captain Frans Banning Cocq, appears to be reaching out. As if it isn't painted on the canvas.

After my day in Delft I've been pretty eager to see Vermeer's paintings in person, which is the main reason why I decided to go to the Rijksmuseum in the first place. My eagerness finally faded with "The Little Street," "The Kitchen Maid," and "The Love Letter." "Woman Reading a Letter" was gone because it is being restored. I'll only be completely satisfied once I see "Girl with a Pearl Earring."

Museumplein
I had lunch at one of the outdoor cafes in the Museumplein. The pond was full of water and the "I Amsterdam" letters were as busy as ever with people posing for pictures. Someday I will get my photo on the 'm.' Someday and another adventure in Amsterdam.

Adventure in Amsterdam - 09.04.2010

Amsterdam History Museum
Now that I have my museumkaart it is my goal to go to at least one museum in Amsterdam each time I visit the city. Last Saturday I took the train in to meet up with a fellow au pair for a sleep over and night out in the city. We weren't set to meet until 5:45 in front of Nieuwe Kerk so I went to the Amsterdam History Museum to kill some time.

I figured it would be a nice way to spend an hour or so. As I might have mentioned before, I know very little about the history of the Netherlands. The extent of my knowledge is limited to famous figures such as Vermeer, Van Gogh, and Anne Frank. After my day in Delft last weekend my historical perspective has improved and my curiosity has increased.

Well, I greatly miscalculated the size of this museum and the amount of time it would require. I stayed for two hours and I didn't get to everything. About halfway through, or what I thought was halfway, I stopped keeping track of what floor I was on or which direction I was going. I absorbed all the information up until about the eighteenth century, took some notes on specific things I found interesting, and then decided it was better that I see everything instead of taking the time to read everything. So, I made it all the way through to the 2000's and took only forty-six, mostly mediocre photos. Obviously I'll have to go back and reserve more time. The upcoming exhibit is about the fashion sense of Dutch men. I can't miss that.







It has taken me a few days to actually sit down and start this entry. I am really at a loss on where to begin in addressing the history of Amsterdam. So, I think I shall save that topic for another post. Perhaps when I visit the museum again. I do, however, have two brief lists of potential veins of inquiry that I intend to tackle for myself but you're more than welcome to take a trip over to Wikipedia on your own as well.

People of interest: Dirck Jacobsz Bas, Princess Marianne, Adriaan van der Hoop, Christian Pieter van Eeghen, Sophia Lopez Suasso-de Bruijn, and Frederik Ruysch.

Topics of interest: city orphanages, the Paalhuis, 19th century art collectors in Amsterdam, and paintings of anatomical studies/procedures.

Adventure in Delft: 08.28.2010

Before setting off on the train to Delft, about an hour's journey time, I ran a quick errand in Amsterdam. Just a few minutes after 10am, when most museums open, I stopped by Nieuwe Kerk to buy an museumkaart. Since I am under 24 I was able to purchase it for the student's price - €22.50. With the card one has free access to something like 400 participating museums throughout the Netherlands. In just one day my card was nearly half paid off. This was my first time in Amsterdam in the morning. Shops were just preparing to open and the tourists were just beginning to emerge. I bought a coffee right by Nieuwe Kerk and drank it on a bench in Dam Square where the pigeons were scarce and a man was playing the bag pipes outside the visitor's entrance to the Royal Palace.



I bought a sandwich at the station and ate it on the train. After arriving and stepping off the platform I followed some young but well-dressed businessmen who said they were going to the Town Hall and I could find my way to all the sights and museums from there. But I got distracted along the way when I came upon a street-lined canal full of stands selling antiques. Of course I found something to buy to remember my day in Delft before it had even begun.



Vermeer Centrum
Sadly no paintings by Johannes Vermeer remain in his home city of Delft. However, the Vermeer Centrum is still worth a visit. I love his paintings but I knew very little about him aside from the story presented in the film Girl With a Pearl Earring (which I highly recommend.) Over the course of about an hour here I discovered that I'm not the only one to know so little about him. There are no letters by his hand left to study so his "voice" is only accessible through his paintings, which are rather difficult to study even for art scholars. He only created between 40-60 in his lifetime which is an usually small body of work.

The Centrum was built on the same spot where the Guildhouse of St. Luke once stood. All artists and craftsmen (including glassmakers, potters, and booksellers) in Delft were required to join this guild, which was established to protect their trade but also provided a network of influence and friendship for its members. The exterior of the Centrum is a recreation of the guildhouse's original exterior for which no expense was spared. Outside the building the arms of the city and the bust of the Classical painter Apelles stood as symbols of the guild's purpose. Cornelis de Mar and Leonart Bramer (who I will discuss later) were commissioned to decorate the boardroom. Vermeer's father was a weaver, inn owner, and art dealer so he was also a member of the guild. Inns and taverns were common places for artists to meet. Thus, it is believed that the time spent in his father's inns (The Flying Fox and Mechelen) was how Vermeer was first exposed to the art world.



One of the biggest unsolved mysteries concerning Vermeer is the identity of his mentor. The Centrum listed sixteen candidates and provided evidence for the three most likely: Leonert Bramer, Christiaen van Couwenbergh, and Gerard ter Borch. Bramer caught my interest since he spent seven years in Italy where he was known as "Leonardo delle Notte" because his paintings were almost always set in the dark and only lit with artificial light. He was an important member of the guild and was head several times. He was a teacher when Vermeer received his training. He was a regular visitor to Mechelen and was probably a family friend of Vermeer's wife. His paintings were set in Classical antiquity or told Biblical stories. The Museum Het Prinsenhof, which you will read about further on in this entry, has a few of his works.



17th century Delft had a busy art market where ordinary citizens, not the Catholic church, were the customers and patrons. Paintings could be bought in an open market and it is estimated that each house had around seven paintings hanging on the walls. Artists began to leave Delft after 1650 because the market became attractive elsewhere but the atmosphere and appreciation is still present to this day. The city reminded me a bit of Florence, so I felt a certain affinity the more I learned about it's Golden Age.

Since Delft has direct access to the sea it was an affluent city dependent on trade. The Dutch East Indies and West Indies companies both had establishments in the city. Mapmakers were regarded as painters for their craft was just as important and required just as much skill. The maps of Joan Blaeu and Pieter Gross, famous cartographers, appear in some of Vermeer's paintings. The presence of globes and maps were key elements in the development of Delft's unique worldview.

So, I learned all of that on just the main floor of the Centrum. The scene was set for the next floor, which was a recreation of his studio and focused on analyzing his technique and style.





Nearly all painters of the Golden Age used Emblemata, a text which described hundreds of emblems and their symbolism, to include messages, morals, or stories in their works. Vermeer is described as "a painter of quiet encounters" who "tempts the observer to join him in being inquisitive." He didn't use such emblems. Therefore, as I have already mentioned, there is a lot of guesswork involved in interpretating his paintings. His figures always fill the center space of his paintings but they are never in the foreground. There is always something in the way. This is called répoussoir. Infrared technology has enabled scientists and scholars to view the paint layers beneath the visible surface. For example, "A Maid Asleep" was first a man with a hat and a small dog. Another common element of paintings were tronies, specific types of figures that appear again and again in various paintings: the virgin girl, the comforting mother, the warrior, ect. Vermeer, however, created photographic portraits of real people who appear exactly as they are: maids, noblemen, noblewomen, ect.

Aside from specific paintings, Vermeer is recognized for his use of light and color. The light source is always natural and comes from one side through a window in his studio. It doesn't simply have a direction but it emits the feeling that it is falling. The figures and objects in the room are all softly effected. In this way Vermeer evokes a sense that the light itself is being emitted from the painting.

Even though the Centrum doesn't have any of his originals, I walked out feeling much wiser and more connected to him and his Delft. As I moved away hazingly I realized that I was inadvertently wearing the precise shades of blue and yellow which he used frequently.

Musuem Het Prinsenhof
With a deepening understand of Delft and Vermeer I made my way towards a history museum which I wasn't particularly interested in visiting but my love for museums drew me onwards. And I am glad it did because my historical perspective of Holland blossomed here. I took notes at the Vermeer Centrum but there were so many rooms here that it would have taken me hours to write everything down.

The museum is in the same building that was used as a convent and as William the Silent's residence during the second half of the 16th century. He was a nobleman who led the Dutch resistance against the Spanish rule over the Netherlands, which at the time was a collection of provinces. The revolt began with the Beeldenstorm, where severe iconoclasm swept through the Low Countries as a protest to King Phillip II of Spain's devout Catholicism and his attempts to suppress the spread of Protestantism. What is now known as the Eighty Years War began. In 1584 William was assassinated by a Catholic Frenchman when he was descending the stairs of his home. Over the centuries there have been multiple re-modelings of the staircase but the museum has attempted to recreate it as best as possible according to various drawings and references. The bullet holes are still visible in the wall.



The rooms on the upper floors were organized according to the different aspects of daily life, society, art, and history of Delft's Golden Age. There were paintings by Leonart Bramer. Paintings which appear hanging on the wall in Vermeer's paintings. Paintings of Delft's "anatomy theater" which included such details as peeled back skin, exposed intestines, an open ribcage, and fascinatingly calm facial expressions on all the observers surrounding the surgical table.

There was a wedding reception in the courtyard just outside and at one point, I believe in the room about Delft Blue (the famous handpainted blue porcelein), one could hear Michael Jackson's "I'm Bad" being played for the guests. Ironically appropriate for a museum about a Dutch rebel who is also sometimes credited as the "father of the country."




Museum Lambert van Meerten
I did not pick up a brochure here (I am not even sure there were any) and there weren't any placcards in English. So, basically I just walked through this house with very little idea about the family who owned it other than the fact that Lambert was a rich art collector.




Oude Kerk (Old Church)
Although the official date of creation for this church is 1246, it is said there was a wooden church on this spot as early as 1050. The church's patron saint is St. Bartholomew, after the name of the original builder, Bartholomew van der Made. The tower, which is 75 meters high and consists of five spires, is reminiscent of Flemish architecture. It was last restored in 1995 but it is still sagging and doesn't stand completely up right. Sort of like the leaning tower in Pisa. The church was a victim to the aforementioned iconoclasm so it was never expanded to create a cross basilica shape. In 1654 Delft's gunpowder magazine exploded and the original stained glass windows were destroyed in the blast. The windows currently sitting in the frames were installed between 1949-1961. All windows, except two, display Biblical subjects. The windows flanking the tower show William the Silent and Queen Wilhelmina. Vermeer was buried in the floor of the Oude Kerk.





Nieuwe Kerk (New Church)
In 1351 a beggar claimed to see a vision of the Virgin Mary and a wooden church was built where she supposedly appeared. In 1420 it was taken down to be replaced with a brick basilica. Not even fifty years after construction was complete, in 1536, the tower was struck by lightening and the roof collapsed. In 1566 iconoclasm stripped the interior of its original furnishings and Catholic decor. The roof collapsed again in 1654 with city's gunpowder explosion.

However, the church is still in use today. It holds the tombs of William the Silent, because at the time of his death Breda, where the burial vaults for the House of Orange were located, was still in the hands of the Spaniards.







Other places of interest in Delft which I did not visit include: Legermuseum (Army Museum), Museum Nusantara, Museum Paul Tetar van Elven. Delft also has a great website here with excellent information for visitors.