Museum Panorama Mesdag is launching a new programming series: Mixed Mesdag. Over a five-year period, the museum will twice-yearly showcase artists whose work ‘mixes’ with the 19th-century masterpieces by Hendrik Willem Mesdag (1831–1915) and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten (1834–1909). Artist Rarri Jackson (b. 1997) sets the ball rolling as a prelude to Mixed Mesdag. From 12 September, two of his works, inspired by the work of Sientje Mesdag-van Houten, will be on display in the Mesdag Galleries. Jackson’s contemporary interpretations are presented in historic gold frames and temporarily will been given a prominent within the collection display. 

Mixed Mesdag
Mixed Mesdag is in line with the vision of Hendrik Willem Mesdag and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten. They not only collected art but also supported artists, stimulated young talent and opened their home and network to others. Mixed Mesdag is an ongoing programme which twice a year will create space for temporary interventions within the collection display. Contemporary artists will be invited to respond using their own visual language to themes such as landscape, nature, the nature of artistry, and societal developments. In this way, the museum gives a contemporary interpretation of the couple’s open and inquisitive attitude. Ranging from art commissions to unique ‘Mesdag Mixes’.

Minke Schat, director of Museum Panorama Mesdag: "With Mixed Mesdag, we allow the collection to speak in ever-changing ways. In their time, Hendrik Willem and Sientje Mesdag provided a platform and a network for talented artists. Following in their footsteps, we are now offering artists the opportunity to interact with the collection through their own unique perspectives and visual languages. For instance, Rarri Jackson’s intuitive painting style provides a fresh look at Sientje Mesdag’s work while simultaneously offering a new artistic reflection."

Rarri Jackson
Rarri Jackson (alias Jahje Ali, 1997) is an artist from The Hague who has a distinctive, colourful and intuitive painting style. Over the past few years, he has developed a recognisable visual language in which landscapes, cityscapes, still lifes and everyday scenes are reduced to clear shapes, loose lines and bold planes of colour. Jackson paints from memory and emotion; his work has a disarming directness: playful and accessible.

“I try to interpret Sientje’s intimacy and passion with my own contemporary twist. Sientje captured the world through her lens. I reduce that world into an uninhibited style."
Rarri Jackson.

The choice of Jackson is no coincidence. The presentation marks his museum debut. Like Sientje Mesdag-van Houten, who was renowned in her time for her loose brushwork and deep, bold use of colour, Jackson uses colour to convey atmosphere, emotion, and memory. During a visit to Museum Panorama Mesdag, Jackson was struck by her work, in particular by the freedom of her brushwork and the intensity of her colours. Now, their visual languages ​​converge: two artists who, each from their own time and perspective, show the incredible power of colour.

Mixed Mesdag presentations
The museum is in discussion with a number of artists, including Raquel Maulwurf, Casper Faassen and Daan Koens, about future presentations of Mixed Mesdag. The participating artist and the interpretation of the presentation will be announced separately.

Mixed Mesdag launch programme
The launching of Mixed Mesdag and the presentation by Rarri Jackson takes place on 11 September in Museum Panorama Mesdag.

The presentation by the artist Rarri Jackson can be seen in Museum Panorama Mesdag from 12 September to 9 May 2027.

About Museum Panorama Mesdag
Museum Panorama Mesdag became a national museum (rijksmuseum) on 1 January 2026. The institution is an icon of The Hague, with Mesdag’s Panorama of Scheveningen as its crowning glory. It shows a selection from the outstanding personal collections of the artist couple Hendrik Willem Mesdag and Sientje Mesdag-van Houten, alongside exhibitions that link past and present in intriguing ways.

Note for editors (not for publication) 

For questions from the press, interviews, film or image material, please contact Caroline Rijks, Press and Communication Coordinator, pressoffice@panorama-mesdag.nl, Tel.: +31 (0)6-41253816. 

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