Museum Van Loon

Museum Van Loon is the residence of the Amsterdam merchant family Van Loon. In 1602 Willem van Loon was one of the founders of the Dutch East India Company, the V.O.C. Several members of the family were on the city council of Amsterdam. In the early nineteenth century the family was raised to the peerage. Right into the twentieth century the family played a significant role on the Amsterdam stock exchange.

The house at 672 Keizersgracht was built in 1672. The first resident was the painter Ferdinand Bol, famous pupil of Rembrandt. Around 1750 the interior was completely rebuilt and embellished in the Rococo style. In 1884 the house was bought as a wedding present for the Honourable Willem Hendrik van Loon and his wife Thora Egidius. In 1973 the house was opened to the public by their grandson professor Maurits van Loon, last male scion of the family. Since then the aim of the Van Loon Foundation has been to preserve the house and the collection for future generations.

The most important storey of the house is the bel-etage. The great hall has an impressive balustrade dating from around 1760. The portraits on the walls all depict members of the Van Loon family, from 1600 to the present time. On the canal side the large reception rooms are to be found. In the Blue Salon Thora van Loon, who was Dame du Palais to Queen Wilhelmina, held her weekly Jour. The Royal photographs were given to Thora van Loon and to the present mrs Van Loon, Lady of the Robes to HM Queen Beatrix. In the dining room on the opposite side there was room for 24 people. The rooms on the garden side were more private. The Red Salon used to be the room where the gentlemen could smoke their after-dinner cigar without bothering the ladies. The garden room offers a good view of the garden and the impressive façade of the coach house. The entrance for coaches was in the Kerkstraat.

The second floor houses the bedrooms. The rooms all have striking wall panelling . The Painted Room has 18th century murals. The Sheep Room has material that was inspired by Indian chintz, a material which was imported on a large scale by the Dutch East India Company. For reasons of symmetry the Red Room contains a fake door. The Bird Room was the nursery.
The basement, containing the kitchen and the pantries, was the domain of the servants.