Once in a while I see a top which I know will be good for my body shape, like this one. I already had the combination of cream trousers with a green top in my mind, so it was a lucky find.
Little update on the IT problems…they should be solved by now. My IT man cracked it (we think). So, if you are experiencing problems in accessing my blog or leaving a comment, please let me know.
Once again Marjolein and I wandered through The Hague and we decided to visit the Panorama Mesdag Museum.
On our way to it, we parked near a big statue.
Below: Me and Willem Frederik, Prince van Oranje Nassau, the first king of the Netherlands.
In the previous sentence is a Wikipedia link (in English) but by Jove, what a complicated matter. Losing land, getting land, in favour, fall from grace, wars, commerce etc etc.
Below: The statue in full, seen from the front. The statute was unveiled in 1869, 26 years after his death, out of gratitude by the people to commemorate Willem Frederik. “Our head of the nation and our saviour”.
Well, in those days it was no different than now. The rich people who profited, were in power and grateful. The majority of the people lived in poverty. In case you had any doubts…I am a socialist, a lefty.
Below: We started walking to the Panorama Mesdag through the chic neighbourhood.
Below: On arrival we first had coffee and lunch. In the café area was this poster against the wall with two beach chairs in front of it. Of course, the perfect photo opportunity for everybody and we were no exception.
Below: Marjolein posed in the other chair, looking fab as ever.
We headed to the panorama.
Below: This was a sketch by Hendrik Willem Mesdag of part of the panorama of Scheveningen which he painted 140 years ago. The Panorama opened on 1 August 1881.
The seascape is 114,5m in circumference and 14,6m high, it is the largest painting of the Netherlands. The canvas consists of 18 smaller pieces that are sewn together.
There is a nice background story on the site of Panorama Mesdag. Here is the link.
Below: As we reached the top of the stairs, the panorama unfolded in front of me and Marjolein said afterwards “Such a shame I didn’t have my camera ready. Your face was priceless. Your mouth dropped a metre.” I was in awe.
Below: The ceiling lets the light through, especially the sunlight, filtered by the draping. The effect is that the sun shines on different parts of the panorama during the day. As in reality. The gentleman beside me is a museum guide and he had so many great stories to tell about what was in the painting but not really visible if you didn’t know it was there.
Below: A video I took of the panorama. On the site it is described as follows:
“The panorama shows an impressively painted beach and seaside scene: a vista of the sea, the dunes and the old Fisherman’s village Scheveningen. In the centre of the building that incorporates this panorama, an artificial dune has been created on a roundabout. From a viewpoint above the dune, visitors will see the same panorama as if they were standing on the Seinpost dune, the highest dune in Scheveningen at the time.”
There is a better video on the Panorama Mesdag website, where you can click on a “+” and the camera will zoom in until you see the brush strokes (sound on).
Below: Here are a few photos I took of the panorama; in case you want to look at it a bit longer. The sand closest to you is real. It is put on wood; behind it is the painting. Problem is, as soon as you take a photo or a video, the 3D effect diminishes dramatically. This is something you should see in real life.
Below: The village of Scheveningen in those days. You are with your back to the sea, looking towards the land. Behind the houses you see bare land. Then. Not anymore. The whole stretch between Scheveningen and The Hague is now a large built-up area.
A few more photos.
Now for the details the guide was telling us about.
Below: The bottom photo shows you part of the panorama and I zoomed in with the top photo. You see a white horse, among the cavalry. The guide told us that a posh gentleman once told him that “…the white horse was of course, a mistake. You wouldn’t ride a white horse in the cavalry; much too conspicuous. You’d be the first one to get shot.”
Below: We don’t know whether the white horse was a mistake or whether the cavalry had a different opinion of danger in those days. What we do know is that a fellow (Panorama) painter, George Hendrik Breitner, painted Cavalry (1883-1888), also with a white horse. This painting is hanging in the Panorama Mesdag Museum.
Below: See the little group of people on the beach on the left, between the blue arrows?
Then look at the next photo.
Below: Here is a close-up of the group of people. The woman who is painting (blue arrow above her head), is Mrs. Sientje Mesdag-Houten, the wife of the painter Mesdag.
Mesdag worked on this commission with Sientje Mesdag-van Houten, good friend Bernard Blommers and the young artists George Hendrik Breitner and Théophile de Bock. With their assistance the Panorama was painted in just 4 months time.
See how well the woman behind Sientje is painted? So tiny, just a few strokes but you can see from her posture that she was looking over the shoulder of Mrs. Mesdag. And how about the transparency of the light blue parasol; amazing.
I think I could spend days here, marvelling.
Below: A group of people going for refreshments in the restaurant.
Below: When we descended, we walked through the museum with paintings, like this one. Die Netzflickerin (1835), is a painting by Heinrich Friedrich Tank (1808-1872). You see, I did my homework this time.
The transparency of the net!
There is a whole new interest in women in history and art. Musea are trying to balance work of male and female artists more now. Finally.
Below: Hague orphans (1874) by four women: Kate Bisschop-Swift, Sientje Mesdag-van Houten, Margaretha Roosenboom and Gerardine van de Sande Bakhuysen.
Below: A dollhouse. No background story from me for this one but I think it was Mesdag’s house as I see a woman painting in the middle.
It was too much to take in, so I will go back. We left the Panorama and went to a square with restaurants.
Below: The Anna Paulowna square.
Below: The weather was sunny but because it was Monday, there weren’t many people on the terraces.
Below: Marjolein sat me next to a statue on a bench and I imitated her pose.
Below: Why not take another outfit photo.
Below: And a close-up for Jose-Maria, my ever so loyal and complimentary friend from Spain.
Below: A head to toe shot of Marjolein. The puffy sleeves work so well in this great outfit. She also chose the right bag with it.
Below: Marjolein was standing with her back to a restaurant. She knew that on the first floor you have a view across the square. The two bay windows are cute.
Below: The mirror is a no-brainer for us. PHOTO !
What a great day it has been. Again.
What happened in my life this week
We suffered a lot of rain in the Netherlands (below).
When it is this wet, I don’t want to go outside, but I can find ways around it. I picked up Marita by car and we drove to restaurant De Stinkende Emmer (Smelly Bucket). I have told the story of how they got that name many times. Here is the explanation again, but you’ll have to translate it unless you can read Dutch. At this restaurant you can park your car for free, pretty close to the front door.
Below: Marita in a new pinafore by Sézane. It had three cute buttons at the top of the back.
I picked up the cream trousers I am wearing in this post from the tailor. They are by ME+EM, several years ago. (Link to when I just bought them, together with the bright pink jumper.) I have worn these trousers so many times, but the first outfit is still my favourite.
When I bought them in London, visiting a friend in 2019, they were already quite tight at the waist and last week I took them to the tailor who widened the waistband. That feels a lot more comfortable.
We had friends round for dinner. Ron made delicious boeuf Bourguignon and we had a jolly evening with the log fire burning.
Another rain avoiding event was going to a film, called The Golden Spurtle. It was almost a documentary about a porridge contest (World Championship) in a tiny village in Scotland. It was endearing, so cute. I love Scotland, the language and the Scottish people and now I also know what a spurtle is.
Below: What I wore to the film.
I voted this week as we are choosing a new government. Contrary to the UK and the USA we don’t have a two-party system; we have 27 different parties to choose from.
Ron created another little booklet; this time for granddaughter Evy’s first birthday. He does the creative side and I do the technical side of this ‘project’. It is now in print and when it arrives, I will take a few photos to give you an idea.
And we went to ‘Monkey Town’, a large indoor children’s playground, with Nicky and the granddaughters. They had a ball.
Below: Ron is protecting Zoë and Evy.
This is a contraption that sucks up hard plastic balls, gathers them above in the see-through containter and when a child hits the red button, the container opens and all the balls drop. They love it but I imagine it is quite painful if they stand right underneath it.
Photo assignment Black and white / contrast
Haven’t been doing much for the assignment. Partly because of the weather, partly because I cannot raise my right arm and partly because I find it a difficult subject.
Below: Dog Watson is always good for a photo. Here the fool is staring at the wall. We don’t know why and wonder as he does it often. Did the teacher put you in the corner?
Below: Prosaic. Kitchen towels. I like the abstractness.
Below: As photographer you often have to wait. For instance, until there are no people in the street.
That’s it for this week.
Greetje
Leave a Reply