Dordrechts Museum: six centuries of painting and a focus on the night
The permanent display ranges from old altarpieces to contemporary art. From Dusk Till Dawn and Hend Samir bring two temporary themes to the museum this autumn.
Dordrechts Museum was founded in 1842 and describes itself as one of the oldest museums in the Netherlands. Behind its historic façade it presents six centuries of painting. The collection page mentions sixteenth-century altarpieces alongside contemporary art; the permanent display covers Dutch painting from 1500 to today.
According to the museum, its collection contains hundreds of portraits, of which a selection is always on view. An older work in the six-century story is the Elisabeth panels from the 1490s. They refer to the St Elizabeth’s Flood of 1421, a disaster later depicted in an altarpiece.
From Dusk Till Dawn is also on view, from 5 September 2026 through 21 February 2027. According to the museum, this exhibition leads visitors through the night by way of more than a hundred works of art. In a separate star room, visitors can experience how the number of visible stars in the Netherlands has declined since the seventeenth century.
A second exhibition is Een Vloedgolf van Levenslust: paintings by Hend Samir, from 5 September 2026 through 10 January 2027. The museum website calls it Samir’s first museum solo show worldwide. The contemporary paintings provide a different focus from the permanent display and the night exhibition.
Drawing tours for children are scheduled for Tuesday 20 and Saturday 24 October during the autumn holiday. The museum also lists an evening opening for From Dusk Till Dawn on 24 October.
The museum is at Museumstraat 40, 3311 XP Dordrecht. Its visitor page lists opening hours from 11 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Sunday. The website also offers a day ticket combining Dordrechts Museum and the Hof van Nederland on the same day.
An adult ticket costs €17, according to the museum website; visitors aged eighteen and under and Museumkaart holders enter free. The combined ticket with the Hof van Nederland costs €22. Drivers should allow for the closure of the N3 during work on the Papendrecht Bridge, which the museum says lasts through 21 April 2027.