Teylers Museum

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Entrance of the Teylers Museum.

The Teyler Museum (or Teylers Museum), located in Haarlem, is the oldest museum in the Netherlands.The museum was founded with money from the legacy of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst (1702–1778). He was a wealthy cloth merchant and a financier, who, being a typical representative of the Enlightenment, bequeathed his fortune for the advancement of art and science. Next to the museum is the Teylers Hofje, a hofje which was also funded by Teyler's legacy.

The Teyler Museum displays collections of fossils and minerals, scientific instruments, medals and coins, paintings, as well as prints and drawings by Michelangelo and Rembrandt. Next to the private house/residence of Pieter Teyler the Oval Room was built in 1784 by Leendert Viervant (1752-1801). This room is a fine example of Neo-classical architecture in the Netherlands. A showcase in the centre displays a mineralogical collection from the 18th century and the showcases around hold 18th-century scientific instruments. The upper gallery has twelve built-in bookcases, largely containing encyclopaedia.

In the 19th century the museum was expanded with two Painting Galleries and a new facade, looking at the river Spaarne, designed in a classicist style by the Viennese architect Christian Ulrich. The Painting Galleries show a collection of works from the Dutch Romantic School and the later Hague and Amsterdam Schools, including major works by Koekoek, Schelfhout, Springer, Maris, Weissenbruch, Breitner and Israëls. A large-scale extension, designed by Hubert Jan Henket and opened in 1996, gives room to temporary exhibitions. The Teyler Museum contains of a collection of more than 10,000 master drawings and some 25,000 prints.

The original mission of the Teyler Museum included research as well as education. The theoretical physicist Hendrik Lorentz was appointed director of research at Teylers in 1910, a position he held until his death in 1928. At the time of his appointment Lorentz was at the height of his scientific career and was a central figure in the international community of physicists. Under his leadership, the Teyler Museum conducted scientific research in such diverse fields as optics, electromagnetism, radio waves and atom physics. Lorentz was succeeded by the physicist and musician Adriaan Fokker.