Long before museum architecture became a popular tourist attraction, architect Hendrik Petrus Berlage and museum director Hendrik Enno van Gelder dreamed of an iconic museum building, a building in which visitors would feel at home and art would flourish in an ultimate setting. In 1935, their dream came true with the opening of a new museum for modern and applied art in The Hague. Although Berlage died in 1934 and thus did not live to see the museum completed, he and Van Gelder set an example for many later creations.
This richly illustrated book takes the original ideas of both the architect and the director as its starting point and shows how their ideas continue to contribute to the experience of Kunstmuseum Den Haag to this day. More than 150 photographs and a wealth of historical material provide a comprehensive picture of the building, including spaces that normally remain closed to visitors. This book paints a unique picture of a museum that has been loved by visitors, artists and architects from all over the world since the day it opened its doors.
