Goodmorning Gentle Readers! How are you all? I hope your outlook for the week is exciting and adventurous! I have been exploring again, and have gone to a new museum, which I want to share with you all today; the Museum Van Loon.
In the heart of Amsterdam’s Grachten Gordel (canal ring) you can find the house of the Van Loon family. In 1602 Willem van Loon co-founded the Dutch East India company.
A private residence built in 1672 by the architect Adrian Dortsman, the first resident was Ferdinand Bol, a student of Rembrandt.
This particular house museum is unique in Amsterdam as it still retains not only the formal garden out the back, but is also bordered on the far side by the classical façade of the coach house.
The rooms display to wonderful effect a large collection of paintings, fine furniture, silvery, and porcelain, in the manner of which they would have existed in centuries gone by.
The museum is named after the Van Loon family who were the last residents of the house, and founders of the museum.
The canal house came into their possession in 1884 when it was purchased for Willem van Loon as a wedding present from his father.
By Amsterdam standards it is a massive house full of luxuriant fabrics, furniture, and textures. A place where it would be easy to lose oneself for an hour, or even a day.
From my modern perspective the overabundance of wealth can sometimes feel a little overwhelming, and given today’s penchant for minimalism, I wonder how the families that have resided within these walls found them relaxing or peaceful to live in.
Obviously they had no such qualms, and going by the multitude of family portraits which abound on the walls and are currently the focus of their own exhibition out in the coach house, lived here very happily for many generations.
It was a wonderful way to spend a chilly wintery day in Amsterdam, and another of Amsterdam’s fine museums which I can highly recommend!
In other news I have spent a lot of time in the past week turning my blog into a webpage. I’m thoroughly enjoying the new look and feel, and I hope you do too! Please feel free to leave me any constructive feedback you think might be of benefit to me. Though please keep in mind that it is currently still a work in progress and I do still have a lot more copy to write. I can’t wait to hear from all of you what your thoughts are!
ghoti industries 
It’s true, some of the wallpapers in combination with the other furnishings become a bit busy. It would be curious to see how it might have been decorated when the space was a residence rather than a museum — one wonders if the portraits and pictures on display would have been there or if they’ve been hung since the transition.
Can one wander the rooms freely or is participation in a tour required?
Good point! That too!
We just wandered around freely. It was quite liberating! And yet, it does mean to have to work for information. So there are pros and cons.