These five hundred old European paintings represent an irreplaceable domestic collection. More than a half of them are works of Netherlandish provenience.
The environment in which the collection was created is not a part of and was never a natural catchment area of Netherlandish painting, although both areas were connected by the reign of the Habsburgs. In spite of this, the collection offers a diverse picture of the dominant tendencies in Netherlandish painting.
The title Netherlandish Painting returns to the SNG calendar after ten years. Most of the collection is comprised of genre scenes and landscapes of cabinet format and to a lesser extent biblical scenes. This art frequently delivered warnings with an accent on the morality and shortness of life on earth, which was especially suitable for politically defined periods. Along with technologically difficult solutions, the content which is oriented on family life, closeness to nature and ethical questions, makes northern painting topical and popular even today.