Retrospect exhibition House of Orange

18 June 2022

Today it is exactly thirty years ago that the exhibition “I smoke Orange” opened in National Museum Palace Het Loo. This happened simultaneously with the publication of the book The Tobacco Pipe as Orange Propaganda. It was the start of a successful tour along four Dutch, a Belgian and a German museum. Amazing as it sounds, that was also the last time the Dutch clay pipe was in the spotlight so widely. More than 80,000 visitors passed through Museum Het Loo alone. The exhibitions are over, but the book on the timeless subject of the House of Orange has always remained a bestseller and is still available.

Presentation of the research results

13 June 2022

Since October 2021, our ambassador Bart Bemelmans has been on the road to speak to key figures in the field in order to develop a future vision for our museum, rich in opportunities and possibilities. Tonight he will reveal his results. Naturally, both the board and the staff are present. At this point when we have to renew the fame of the museum and to intensify the visitor flow again, it is especially important that we make the right choices. It's about keeping what's good and changing what needs innovation. The latter option certainly has several flavors. We are curious about his findings.

The museum as drawing room

8 June 2022

Today we received a special visitors group in our museum. The Amsterdam Sunday Painters made use of the impressive main chamber of our museum for a drawing lesson on location. They were armed with a so-called silver point and specially prepared paper. Drawing with silver point - a pen made of pure silver - is a technique that has been used for finely shaded drawings since the sixteenth century. Ideally suited for drawing our pipes with their details and varied texture. A special experience for us, a great lesson for the artists.