Leeuwarden acquires a new, iconic ceramic work in public space

Monumental tile tableau

A monumental tile tableau has been installed in in the facade of Brasserie Marie Louise. The project partners presented the ambitious plans for this work of art on Tuesday 15 January. Bearn Bilker, chairman of the Nassau & Friesland Foundation, Harm van der Ploeg and Jan Kok of Royal Tichelaar, and Kris Callens, director of the Princessehof Museum of Ceramics, displayed the design and the first tiles.

The tile tableau consists of no less than 2160 tiles. It is an ode to Marie Louise of Hessen-Kassel, Princess of Orange-Nassau, and depicts her relationship with all the remaining European royal houses. It is a high-quality and durable successor to the earlier mural by Roy Schreuder in the same location.

Ontwerp. Een initiatief van de Stichting Nassau en Friesland, Keramiekmuseum Princessehof en Koninklijke Tichelaar, ontwerp Mich

Tourist attraction

The former mural of Marie Louise on the same facade was installed in 2015 as part of the Marie Louise Commemoration and unveiled later that year, on 20 June, by one of her descendants: King Willem-Alexander. The painting proved to be a great success. Every day, hundreds of people came to see it, took a photograph or pointed at the images. Foreign visitors were surprised to see their own king or queen in the painting. A striking number of selfies were taken. Unfortunately, the condition of the mural deteriorated rapidly. Now that it has become one of the most popular attractions in Leeuwarden, the cooperating parties would like it to remain in place, but in a more durable and suitable material: a (ceramic) tile tableau, designed by Michaël Snitker and produced by Royal Tichelaar from Makkum. The two portraits in the centre were reproduced courtesy of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The tile tableau is made possible with the support of the Municipality of Leeuwarden, FB Oranjewoud, Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Fryslân, Keramiekmuseum Princessehof, Nassau & Friesland Foundation, Ottema-Kingma Foundation, Van Achterbergh-Domhof Foundation, Boelstra Olivier Foundation, Herbert Duintjer Fund.

The Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics is co-funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Municipality of Leeuwarden.