The Mauritshuis, completed in 1644, is an exceptional building. Designed by Jacob van Campen, the premises are a textbook example of the architectural style known as Dutch Classicism. It was the residence of a colourful individual, Count Johan Maurits of Nassau-Siegen, a relative of the stadholders, who made a career for himself in the army and as a governor of the Dutch colony in Brazil. For nearly two hundred years his former home has been a museum famous for its collection of Old Master Paintings.

This book is the first to recount the complete history of the Mauritshuis. The authors examine its architectural qualities, the original furnishings, the garden, the fire of 1704, the decoration of the Golden Room, the people who resided there, and the premises' recent extension. It is the history of a buildings whose first owner once described it as 'beautiful, very beautiful and supremely beautiful house'.