Museum Willet-Holthuysen in Amsterdam
Museum Willet-Holthuysen has an impressive collection of furniture, silverware and paintings. It is housed in a beautifully preserved 17th century mansion. Although the original arrangement of the rooms has remained intact, over the years the many different merchant and patrician families who lived in this house had it refurnished and repainted. The last residents were Abraham Willet and his wife Louisa Holthuysen. Although Willet's family were far from poor, his marriage to the much wealthier Louisa Holthuysen gave him the opportunity to indulge his passion for acquiring art on a different scale. His sizeable art collection forms the core of the museum. In 1895 Louisa left the house with its contents to the city of Amsterdam on the condition that the museum would bear the name Willet-Holthuysen and her husband's art collection would be displayed. A year later, the museum opened its doors.
