Escher Museum

Escher in Het Paleis is a museum in The Hague, Netherlands, dedicated to the work of the Dutch graphic artist Maurits Cornelis Escher. Established on November 15, 2002, the institution features a permanent exhibition of Escher's prints and drawings, highlighting his exploration of perspective, space, and optical illusion. The collection is notably borrowed from the Kunstmuseum Den Haag. The museum is situated in the Lange Voorhout Palace, a former royal residence, creating a distinctive environment where classical 19th-century interiors meet the mathematically precise and surreal imagery of 20th-century graphic art.

The Hague municipality gave the Lange Voorhout Palace a museum function in 1992 as part of the Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, initially hosting exhibitions for artists like Rodin and Frida Kahlo. On November 16, 2002, management transferred to the Foundation Escher in Het Paleis, and the venue became exclusively dedicated to Escher's graphic art. In 2015, the museum faced controversy when it was revealed that many displayed prints were replicas, scanned from originals and printed onto the same type of paper Escher used, rather than the authentic works as they had been labeled. That same year, director Benno Tempel proposed moving the collection to the nearby former American embassy building, but the plan was abandoned after the embassy relocated to Wassenaar in 2018.

The museum presents over 120 prints encompassing nearly the entirety of Escher's oeuvre, supplemented by private photographs, letters, and preliminary sketches. The displays trace his artistic evolution, starting with early Italian landscapes and still lifes, moving through his study drawings of Moorish mosaics and tessellations, and culminating in his famous mirror prints and impossible geometries. Woodblocks and lithostones are also exhibited to explain his working methods in woodcut, lithography, and mezzotint. The second floor features an interactive exhibition titled In the Eye of Escher, which explores themes of reflection, perception, and perspective through interactive displays and an Impossible Penrose Triangle construction.

The permanent display includes world-famous lithographs and woodcuts such as Sky and Water, Belvedere, Waterfall, and Drawing, as well as Day and Night, Relativity, and Snakes. The exhibition highlight is Metamorphosis III, a seven-meter-long woodcut displayed in a circular arrangement to let viewers experience Escher's combination of time and space as an organic unity. The museum also shows all three versions of Metamorphosis, from the first small version to the monumental third iteration. Additionally, the museum hosts temporary exhibitions that connect Escher's legacy to broader themes, such as Escher and Islamic art, and his mathematical connections with contemporaries like Albert E. Bosman.

The museum is housed in the Lange Voorhout Palace, an 18th-century stately home on the Lange Voorhout lane in The Hague. Queen Emma bought the palace in 1896 and used it as her winter palace from March 1901 until her death in March 1934. Four subsequent Dutch queens used the building for their business offices until Queen Beatrix moved her office to Paleis Noordeinde. The first and second floors retain exhibitions highlighting Queen Emma's royal period. The interior features a parquet floor designed in 1991/92 by American minimalist artist Donald Judd, who applied different colors and geometric patterns. Fifteen chandeliers designed by Rotterdam artist Hans van Bentem hang throughout, referencing Escher's work and the palace; in the ballroom, a star chandelier is endlessly reflected between two mirrors, while other rooms feature chandeliers shaped like a shark, a skull, spiders, and a seahorse.

Escher in Het Paleis is located at the Lange Voorhout in the city center of The Hague. It is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 to 17:00. The museum is accessible via tram lines 15 or 16 to the Korte Voorhout stop, or by a ten-minute walk from The Hague Central Station via Koningskade and Korte Voorhout. Driving access is via the A4 and A12 Utrechtsebaan following signs to Centrum, though parking is limited, with Malieveld and Interparking Museumkwartier as nearby options. The museum offers free audio guides via the Bloomberg Connects app and organizes specialized guided tours for blind or visually impaired visitors before regular opening hours. A museum shop on the ground floor sells Escher-related books, puzzles, and merchandise.