‘The Goldfinch’ by Carel Fabritius is the most looked at bird in the history of art. The world behind this apparent small painting is much larger than you would suspect. It inspired people and artists for centuries and still does to this day. The song of the Goldfinch inspired Composer Antonio Vivaldi to write Il Gardellino and the novel: ‘The Goldfinch’ written by Donna Tart is based on the painting. But there is so much more to discover. Did you know that in Dutch they’re called ‘Puttertjes’? Meaning: ‘little water drawers’, this comes from a trick you can teach them: to draw water with a miniature bucket. The website takes you on a bird’s eye view journey through the life of The Goldfinch, which unfolds before your eyes.

The website consists of 9 different layers and lets the viewer experience the complete story of ‘The Goldfinch’. The challenge was to build the architecture of chapters, blocks and hotspots that would react to the scroll and have their own animations, but still seamlessly scroll into the next section. We wanted to give the viewer the feeling that they would really take a plunge into the painting and bring it to life. So we left as much room possible for exploring, looking and intuitively discover all the stories behind the painting. We’ve reduced unnecessary interface and excess scrolling to eliminate any distraction. This enhances the experience as if you were being read a book aloud. Within 4 months the project came to life. Starting with extensive research for content, followed by front and backend development for all platforms.

The average time spent on site is 4 minutes and 40 seconds. In a time where people’s attention is so scarce because of the many incitements this is a great success. You discover the unexpected stories behind the painting and get acquainted with the museum at the same time. In the end every online visitor is a visitor for the Mauritshuis. The Goldfinch and the Mauritshuis get the attention they deserve and this deepens the perception of the collection of the Mauritshuis and motivates people to come and experience the actual painting in real life.

The collection is the core strength of the Mauritshuis. We must show and tell that the Mauritshuis is the place to find masterpieces and is the centre of knowledge when it comes to paintings from the Golden Age. Still, the Golden Age feels a bit old fashioned and corny. But that’s unfair. To change the perception we’ve developed a concept that places the collection in a whole new perspective. There are so many different unknown stories behind all the paintings. By exposing the painting to the audience – both young and old – in this way, the viewers discover surprising stories behind the painting. This is in line with the strategy we developed for the Mauritshuis: to paint a picture of the Golden Age. We bring the story behind known - and lesser known - paintings to a greater and international audience to get them acquainted with the museum.

The Mauritshuis in The Haque is a small boutique museum and home to the Best of Dutch paintings from the Golden Age. Despite its compact size it houses a world-famous collection. Masterpieces such as Vermeer's ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’, and Rembrandt’s ‘The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp’ are on permanent display in the intimate rooms of this seventeenth-century monument. For most people the masterpieces are more famous than the museum itself. How can we tell the world which masterpieces can be seen in the Mauritshuis and strengthen the perception that they are an absolute authority when it comes to knowledge of the Golden Age? Budget is limited, 60k including media.