THE HAGUE.-Gerrit Dou called him the prince of his pupils. He received commissions from Cosimo de Medici in Italy. And, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm implored him - in vain - to be his court painter in Vienna. The Mauritshuis is organising the first survey exhibition ever devoted to Frans van Mieris. Approximately 40 paintings and some drawings provide an image of the Holland's best master of fine painting.

The finest of fine painters - Glass and metal, satin or velvet - Frans van Mieris could simulate any material in paint. He gave a perfect imitation of reality on supports often smaller than fifteen square inches. The surface is as smooth as glass, and the brushstrokes are invisible to the naked eye.

Storyteller in paint - Frans van Mieris painted extraordinarily elegant portraits and scenes from everyday life. As a storyteller in paint he recorded the interaction between figures. The tension is often palpable.

Humour & Eroticism - The refined paintings are full of hidden messages; usually naughty allusions to love and eroticism. Typical of Van Mieris, who enjoyed teasing his public, the artist and his wife frequently play a supporting part in his intimate scenes.