What is, among others, really fascinating about the Dutch culture is how they manage to turn every piece of their history, no mater how small, into a special and intersting story of the past, usually acompanied also by a museum. To the visitor, this looks like there is a new discovery hidden behind every next corner, waiting to be revealed.
One day, as I was hovering my eyes over the map of Delft, my attention was caught by a small museum, the Museum of Tetar van Elven. So the next questions were: "Who was Tetar van Elven?" and "What is he famous for?"
I did a small research in wiki but the easiest way to find out was to go there and see for my self. What I saw was small picturesque historic Ducth canal house, nicely furnished and boldy decorated. Van Elven's brilliant works were decorating all the walls in his house... but lets make a step back and make an introduction.
Who was Piere Tetar van Elven? Well, briefly stated, he was a multi-talended Dutch; a painter, a copyist (of paintings made by other painters) a collector and also an Art teacher in the Polytechniesche School, which is now the famous Technical University of Delft.
What is he famous for? As already said, it his works and his artistic mind that enabled him to made his mark in the Dutch history. A "19th century painter" as it is stated in the museum brochure. His house is small, with a basement and a first floor, comprised of 5 rooms in total. They are all decorated with a large collection of antiques varying from furniture to porcelain and Delft potery, even guns. The walls were filled by his brilliant paintings and works while a fireplace and a piano were decorating the living room. A large canvas and a library were filling the artist's atelier.
As the brochure says, "it is not difficult to imagine you are visiting the house of an artist." If you ever happen to visit Delft, I believe it is worthy to pay a visit to the Tetar van Elven museum.
Just take a look in the photos below.
Photo 1: The library in the atelier
Photo 2: The living room
Photo 3: Paintings in the office
Photo 4: The canvas in the atelier
Photo 5: The fireplace
