Arguably the best museum in the Netherlands for paintings of Dutch light, with one of the finest collections of 17th-century art. The Mauritshuis was built in 1640 for Johan Maurits, Count of Nassau-Siegen, after a design by the two most famous Dutch architects of the day, Jacob van Campen and Pieter Post. The Mauritshuis has housed the Royal Cabinet of Paintings since 1822. This superb collection comprises masterpieces of the Golden Age and includes paintings by Vermeer (View of Delft and The Girl with a Pearl Earring), Jacob van Ruisdael, Salomon van Ruysdael, Jan van Goyen, Willem van de Velde, Saenredam, Rembrandt and Frans Hals.

The interview with Ernst van de Wetering was held at the Mauritshuis. Taking a landscape by Philips Koninck as an example, Van de Wetering explains how 17th-century painters contrasted large areas of light and dark to create an illusion of space.

www.mauritshuis.nl