In the autumn of 2007 the Mauritshuis will present a large survey exhibition of one of the most fascinating phenomena in the history of Western art: Dutch seventeenth-century portraiture. Nowhere else were so many portraits painted of burghers from all walks of life. Amazingly, the last exhibition devoted to this subject took place more than 50 years ago.

With approximately 60 masterpieces, the exhibition will afford a magisterial overview of seventeenth-century portraiture. The two grand masters of the genre are Rembrandt and Frans Hals, both of whom are represented by at least eight masterpieces each. In addition, one or more works by some 25 other masters will also be on view. The number of talented painters in the Northern Netherlands in the seventeenth century was unparalleled.

The exhibition is being jointly organised with the National Gallery in London, where it will be on view in the summer of 2007. The loans come from more than 30 different museums and private collections in Europe and the United States. Particularly important lenders are the Royal Collection in London, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, the Musée du Louvre in Paris and the Gemäldegalerie in Kassel.