Teylers Museum

Teylers Museum

The Teyler Museum (or Teyler's Museum; "Teylers Museum" in Dutch), located in Haarlem, is the oldest museum in the Netherlands. The museum is in the former home of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst (1702–1778). He was a wealthy cloth merchant and Amsterdam banker of Scottish descent, who bequeathed his fortune for the advancement of art and science. He was a Mennonite and follower of the Scottish Enlightenment. Nearby the museum is the Teylers Hofje, a hofje which was also founded in Teyler's name.

The Teyler legacy to the city of Haarlem was split into three societies, one for religion, one for science, and one for the arts, known as the first, second, and third societies. The caretakers had to meet in Teyler's home weekly, and each society had five caretakers, so all of the gentlemen involved lived in Haarlem. Until his death, Teyler held weekly meetings in his home for the Mennonite community and the men's drawing school "Haarlemse Teekenacademie". The drawing school moved after his death to a new location, to make room for the second society, called "Teylers Physische en Naturalien Kabinetten en Bibliotheek", under the direction of Martin van Marum.

The Teyler's Museum displays an eclectic collection of fossils (among which the first ever discovered, if not recognised, of "Archaeopteryx"), minerals, scientific instruments, medals, coins, and paintings. It is most famous for its extensive collection of old master's prints and drawings, including several works by Michelangelo and Rembrandt. The various objects reflect the interests of 18th century wealthy men like Pieter Teyler who kept 'rariteiten kabinetten' or curiosity cabinets. The main building is built partially in and behind Teyler's former home, on his garden or 'hortus'. Behind the house, the Oval Room was built in 1784 by the architect Leendert Viervant (1752–1801). The same architect drew the plans for the hofje. The current main entrance on the Spaarne was not added until 1878 and was designed by the Viennese architect Christian Ulrich who won the design contest for a new annex, including the entrance hall and auditorium.cite book
title=Deugd boven geweld — Een geschiedenis van Haarlem 1245–1995
publisher=Historisch Werkgroep Haarlem en Gemeentearchief, 1995
]

The Oval room is a fine example of Neo-classical architecture in the Netherlands. A showcase in the centre displays a mineralogical collection from the 18th century and the showcases around hold 18th-century scientific instruments. The upper gallery has twelve built-in bookcases, largely containing period encyclopaedia, but closed to the public. Various parts of the library and print collection are now shown in rotation in a specially prepared room. The history of the Teyler's collection is almost as interesting as the collection itself. As curiosity cabinets fell out of fashion, the museum was granted objects from former summer estates in the Haarlem area. For example, many of the fossils come from a collection of one of the former owners of Groenendaal. Many of the medals and coins come from the former Enschede mint, which was just around the corner.

In the 19th century, the museum was expanded with two Painting Galleries. The Painting Galleries show a collection of works from the Dutch Romantic School and the later Hague and Amsterdam Schools, including major works by Koekoek, Schelfhout, Springer, Anton Mauve, Jacob Maris, Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch, George Hendrik Breitner and Isaac Israëls. A large-scale extension, designed by Hubert Jan Henket and opened in 1996, gives room to temporary exhibitions. The Teyler Museum contains of a collection of more than 10,000 master drawings and some 25,000 prints.

The original mission of the second society included research as well as education. After the death of van Marum, Teylers continued to attract scientists of high standing as caretakers. The theoretical physicist Hendrik Lorentz was appointed director of research at Teylers in 1910, a position he held until his death in 1928. At the time of his appointment Lorentz was at the height of his scientific career and was a central figure in the international community of physicists. Under his leadership, the Teyler Museum conducted scientific research in such diverse fields as optics, electromagnetism, radio waves and atom physics. Lorentz was succeeded by the physicist and musician Adriaan Fokker.

References

External links

* [http://noord-hollandsarchief.nl/?pc_id=71&pp_id=155/ Noord-Hollandsarchief] Archives of North Holland
* [http://www.teylersmuseum.nl/ Teylers Museum] (in Dutch)
* [http://www.artcast.nl/content.aspx?i=16/ Free downloadable virtual tour of the museum] (English)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Teylers Museum — Le Teylers Museum est un musée d Haarlem en Hollande. Article interne Faux minéraux Portail des musées …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Museum: Die Öffnung der Sammlungen —   Bereits seit der frühen Neuzeit wurden Wunder menschlicher Fertigkeit wie auch der Natur von Fürsten, Adligen und reichen Bürgern in Kunstkammern zusammengetragen. Durch Systematisierung der Bestände entwickelten sich daraus Spezialsammlungen,… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Teylers Hofje — The Teylershofje is a hofje in Haarlem, the Netherlands with 24 houses.It was built in 1787 from the legacy of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst, just like the Teylers Museum close to it. Pieter Teyler van der Hulst originally founded a hofje when his… …   Wikipedia

  • museum, types of — Introduction       varieties of institutions dedicated to preserving and interpreting the material aspects of human activity and the environment. Such a broad range of activities can be conducted by a wide variety of institutions, which, for… …   Universalium

  • Martin van Marum — by Charles Howard Hodges …   Wikipedia

  • Tiberius Cornelis Winkler — Infobox Scientist name = Tiberius Cornelis Winkler birth date = birth date|1822|5|28|mf=y birth place = Leeuwarden, Netherlands residence = nationality = death date = death date and age|1897|4|4|1822|5|28|mf=y death place = Haarlem, Netherlands… …   Wikipedia

  • Elektrisiermaschine — Elektrostatische Generatoren sind mechanische Vorrichtungen zur Erzeugung elektrischer Spannung mit Mitteln der Elektrostatik durch die Trennung elektrischer Ladungen. Allgemein sind sie geeignet, hohe Spannungen zu erreichen, können aber keine… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Elektrostatischer Generator — Elektrostatische Generatoren sind mechanische Vorrichtungen zur Erzeugung elektrischer Spannung mit Mitteln der Elektrostatik durch die Trennung elektrischer Ladungen. Allgemein sind sie geeignet, hohe Spannungen zu erreichen, können aber keine… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Музей Тейлора — Координаты: 52°22′49.44″ с. ш. 4°38′25.08″ в. д. / 52.3804° с. ш. 4.6403° в. д.  …   Википедия

  • Adriaan Fokker — Infobox Scientist name = Adriaan Fokker caption = Adriaan Daniël Fokker birth date = birth date|1887|8|17|mf=y birth place = Buitenzorg, Dutch East Indies death date = death date and age|1972|9|24|1887|8|17|mf=y death place = Beekbergen,… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”