THE HAGUE.- The Mauritshuis has acquired the exceptional history painting, Moses and Pharaoh’s Crown by Jan Steen (1626-1679), from a private collection. The museum already owns a superb collection of fourteen paintings by Steen, including undisputed highlights such as Girl Eating Oysters and ‘As the Old Sing, So Twitter The Young’. Until now, however, a history painting by Steen was lacking, so Moses and Pharaoh’s Crown represents a very welcome addition to the Mauritshuis’s collection. The skilfully painted canvas depicts a little-known episode from the childhood of Moses and demonstrates Jan Steen’s exceptional talent as a storyteller. The new acquisition has been made possible thanks to the support of the BankGiro Lottery and will be on display as part of the exhibition Spice of Life: Jan Steen in the Mauritshuis (3 March – 13 June 2011). Jan Steen’s paintings are at