We Dutch are in a way obsessed with space. The Netherlands are the most densely populated country in Europe, and it’s impossible to find a decent apartment in Amsterdam if you’re not kin of Croesus. Because of this, I have developed a certain kind of spacio-mania: and than I found this museum.
Of course one can argue about the definition of a museum but most people since the nineteenth century would agree that, besides its conservational and collecting tasks, a museum should be open to public.
While there is no problem visiting Huis Marseille, it is less trouble-free to try and write about it or even photograph this lovely foundation. For me that’s exactly the point, is it really “open to the public” when only an excusive circle of well- informed culture dilettantes know of the existence of this collection?
At Huis Marseille they think this site is too commercial to their philosophy and they would prefer to not be mentioned. But I can’t withhold this heavenly place from you, so I’ll describe it without any reserve.
Huis Marseille, the first photo museum in Amsterdam, is located on Keizersgracht 401 in a canal house with the same name. After passing the reception it’s unlikely you’ll meet a lot of visitors. Hues of green, grey marble and honey colored wooden floors impressed me so much that I kind of forgot the current exhibition. A staircase leads into the backhouse, the most interesting part of this marvelous house.
Nothing is more appropriate to the garden room than Jacob de Wit’s Heavenly concept, an original ceiling painting from the eighteenth century. Viewing the garden with its ancient trees, a feeling of calm and serenity came over me. The best part is that you can enter the garden because they have put tables and chairs outside. So with a coffee or tea from the museum's 'media kitchen' you can pretend, since nobody else will be there, that you are sitting in your own garden.
If you’re eager for the city again, visit the nearby Cafe Walem on Keizersgracht 449, one of the first Grand cafés in Amsterdam. If you still have some energy left for art, drop in to Foam a neighboring photo museum (Keizersgracht 609) in the conventional way.
