The Louis Couperus Museum is a museum located in the
Archipelbuurt
The Archipelbuurt (, literally ''Archipelago Neighbourhood'') is a neighbourhood in the Centrum district of The Hague, Netherlands. It has 5,764 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2013) and covers an area of . Built primarily between 1860 and 1890, the ...
neighbourhood of
The Hague. The museum celebrates the life and work of the Belle Époque writer
Louis Couperus.
Location
The museum was founded in 1996 by
Caroline de Westenholz
Caroline Anne Freiin de Westenholz (London, 1954) is an Anglo-Dutch art historian and writer. She is the founder of the Louis Couperus Museum in The Hague.
Early life and education
Caroline de Westenholz was born in London in 1954. She is the d ...
, step daughter of
Albert Vogel jr. (1924-1982), a biographer of Couperus, and housed in his former art gallery. The museum, which is located at Javastraat 17, is within walking distance of a number of addresses where
Louis Couperus has lived himself, including:
* Mauritskade, where Couperus was born in 1863.
* Nassauplein 4, which served as the residence of the Couperus family from 1878 to 1893. It was here that Couperus wrote the poems that would form part of his debut anthology '.
*
Surinamestraat 20, where Couperus' wrote his debut novel,
Eline Vere
''Eline Vere'' is an 1889 novel by the Dutch writer Louis Couperus. It was adapted into the 1991 film '' Eline Vere'', directed by Harry Kümel. Couperus wrote ''Eline Vere'' in the house at Surinamestraat 20, The Hague.
Reception
The naturalis ...
. Later this was the home of writer, lawyer and politician
Conrad Theodor van Deventer. It was the intention to move the Louis Couperus Museum to this place but because the Foundation Couperushuis Surinamestraat could not raise enough funds to buy the house, it is still for sale. Permission to place a commemorative plaque on the house was not granted.
Geen toestemming van Egypte voor gedenksteen
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The museum
The museum houses various objects related to Couperus, such as manuscripts and personal belongings. The rooms are stylistically designed to give the impression of how the residence would have appeared in Couperus' day and age. It features Couperus' desk, and a portrait of his father, John Ricus Couperus
John Ricus Couperus (1816 – 1902) was a Dutch lawyer, member of the Council of Justice in Padang, member of the High Military Court of the Dutch East Indies and the ''landheer'' of Tjikopo. He was also the father of the Dutch writer Louis Coupe ...
. Twice a year the museum organises exhibitions on themes concerning Couperus' work or life. In addition to the themed exhibitions, the museum organises walking-tours along places of significance to Couperus and his work, such as the houses where characters from his novels lived.
Couperus' desk, manuscripts and personal letters form part of the collection of the Letterkundig Museum. Other items, such as Couperus' collected publications and a life-sized mannequin of Couperus, belong to the collection of the museum itself.
See also
Couperus.jpg, Louis Couperus
Louis Couperus Museum.JPG, Javastraat 17
File:Den Haag 025.JPG, Louis Couperus Museum
File:Louis Couperus Surinamestraat20.JPG, Surinamestraat 20
References
* John Sillevis and Caroline de Westenholz, ''Louis Couperus Museum 1996-2001. Een uitgave van het Louis Couperus Museum ter gelegenheid van het vijfjarig bestaan op 10 juni 2001''. Den Haag, 2001
* ''Louis Couperus Museum 1996-2006. Een uitgave van het Louis Couperus Museum ter gelegenheid van het tienjarig bestaan op 10 juni 1906''. Den Haag, 2006
Louis Couperus Museum
External links
Webpage for Louis Couperus Museum
{{Authority control
Museums in The Hague