The building was designed by Hendrik Petrus Berlage, who is considered the "Father of Modern architecture" in the Netherlands. After a visit to the U.S. in 1911, he became a follower of Frank Lloyd Wright and helped to disseminate Wright's views in Europe. The Gemeentemuseum was built in the 1930s in the Art Deco style.
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| Entrance to Gemeentemuseum by Hendrik Petrus Berlage It has a covered walkway. |
In the interior, a covered courtyard provides both seating for the cafeteria and a gift shop.
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| Courtyard of the Gemeentemuseum |
Dutch Art in the Modern Era
After you have studied the Dutch Masters of the Golden Age of the 1600s—Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jan Steen, Judith Leyster, and Rachel Ruysch—you begin to wonder, "And then what?" The answer is, "Not much, at least for the 1700s."
After the 1600s, economic and political problems diminished activity in art. The fine arts enjoyed a revival around 1830, a time now referred to as the Romantic period in Dutch painting.
The Romantic period
Andreas Schelfhout was known for his landscape paintings. This one seems very traditional, but it is modern in depicting a steam train, a new invention, in the distance.
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| Andreas Schelfhout, 1787-1870 Panorama - Train in Landscape, 1846 |
Johan Barthold Jongkind is better known than most 19th century Dutch painters because he lived in Paris much of his life, and his work was strongly influenced by Impressionism. This picture shows workers wielding sledge-hammers atop a building that is being demolished; the debris is being carried away by a horse-drawn cart.
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| Johan Barthold Jongkind, 1819-1891 Demolition of the Rue des Francs-Bourgeois, Quartier Mouffetard, 1868 |
The Hague School
In the 1860s, a number of Dutch landscape artists with similar aesthetic values migrated to The Hague. They often imitated the landscapes of the Golden Age, and they tended to go for muted coloration.
Several traditional landscapes by Johan Hendrik Weissenbruch were exhibited at the museum. He was a great admirer of Jacob van Ruisdael, the Golden Age painter, whose work he saw at an early age at the Mauritshuis in The Hague.
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| Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch, 1824-1903 View of Haarlem, c. 1845 |
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| Jan Hendrik Weissenbruch, 1824-1903 Landscape near Noorden, 1891 |
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| Hendrik Willem Mesdag, 1831-1915 Return with the Catch, 1895 |
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| Jozef Israëls, 1824-1911 Young Fisherman’s Wife in Dunes, pre-1863 |
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| Anton Mauve, 1838-1888 Fishing Boat on the Beach, 1882 |
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| Anton Mauve, 1838-1888 Flock of Sheep with the Shepherd in the Snow, c. 1888 |
Vincent van Gogh
Into this rather drab and traditional history suddenly drops the modern and vibrant work of Vincent van Gogh. The Gemeentemuseum does not have many examples of his work, because they are in the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam and the Kröller Müller in Otterlo. They do have this nice garden piece.
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| Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1990 Garden at Arles, 1888 |
Jan Toorop
Van Gogh had to move to France to discover the bright colors and full sunshine that he is noted for. Jan Toorop was born in the Dutch East Indies, present-day Indonesia, so he had youthful experience with rich light and color. He studied in Delft and Amsterdam, and lived in The Hague part of his life. His style was strongly influenced by Pointillism, but he also used some curving lines and odd perspectives based on Indonesian art. Jan is a man's name in The Netherlands.
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| Jan Toorop, 1858-1928 November Afternoon (Willows), 1886 |
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| Jan Toorop, 1858-1928 Dunes and Sea near Zoutelande, 1907 |
Piet Mondrian
After van Gogh, the next most famous Dutch artist of the modern era is Piet Mondrian. The Gemeentemuseum has the largest collection of his works in the world. He gained international recognition by moving to Paris and absorbing the modern movements.
Here's a portrait of Mondrian by a younger contempory. He looks sophisticated but severe.
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| Gerard Hordijk, 1899-1958 Portrait of Piet Mondrian, 1927 |
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| Piet Mondriaan, 1872-1944 Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Gray and Blue, 1921 |
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| Piet Mondriaan, 1872-1944 Church at Oostkapelle, 1909 |
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| Piet Mondriaan, 1872-1944 Evolution, 1911 |
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| Piet Mondriaan, 1872-1944 The Grey Tree, 1911 |
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| Piet Mondriaan, 1872-1944 Flowering Trees, 1912 |
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| Piet Mondriaan, 1872-1944 Composition with Grid 9: Checkerboard Composition with Bright Colours, 1919 |
Theo van Doesburg
Theo van Doesburg was eight years younger than Mondrian, and when he first saw Mondrian's work, he felt it realized his ideal in painting: a complete abstraction of reality. He made contact with Mondrian, and they began the De Stijl movement. The museum exhibited three of his paintings that show him becoming increasingly abstract and simplified. However, he could never restrain himself to the rigid verticals and horizontals that Mondrian preferred.
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| Theo van Doesburg, 1883-1931 The Card Players, 1916-1917 |
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| Theo van Doesburg, 1883-1931 Further Imagining of the Card Players, 1917-1918 |
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| Theo van Doesburg, 1883-1931 Countercomposition XVI, 1925 |
Bart van der Leck
Bart van der Leck was one of the founders of De Stijl, and it was his example that led Mondrian to limit his palette to primary colors, but he soon broke with the others and went his own way. He was not very successful, and it was the patronage of Helene Kröller Müller that kept him afloat. Although his style became completely abstract, the museum was showing early figurative works that I liked.
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| Bart van der Leck, 1876-1958 The Patient, 1912 |
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| Bart van der Leck, 1876-1958 Artillery Training. 1911 |
Heinrich Campendonk
Although he is considered Dutch, Heinrich Campendonk came from Germany and was a member of the Blue Rider group there when the Nazis came to power in 1933 and prohibited him from exhibiting. He moved to Amsterdam and spent the rest of his life teaching in an art academy there, becoming a naturalized citizen. His work is refreshingly wild and difficult to interpret, and his color combinations are very appealing.
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| Heinrich Campendonk, 1889-1957 The Yellow Animal, c. 1914 |
Charley Toorop
Originally named Annie Caroline Pontifex Fernhout-Toorop, Charley Toorop was the daughter of Jan Toorop, and friendly with the members of De Stijl. She is known for self-portraits and female nudes in a powerful, realistic style, but throughout her career, she also painted still lifes.
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| Charley Toorop, 1891-1955 Fruit and Autumn Leaves, 1952 |
Michael Raedecker
Michael Raedecker is a Dutch artist currently living and working in London. His approach is subtle but loaded with portent.
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| Michael Raedecker, b. 1963 On, 2008 |
The International Painting Collection
In addition to all this Dutch art, the Gemeentemuseum has a representative sample of international works from the 19th and 20th century. Here are a few of my favorites.
Claude Monet
You may think you know Monet, but then you see a work that absolutely amazes you. This painting depicts fishing nets being held above the pounding surf by a network of poles. I haven't been able to find any explanation for this fishing technique, but it is certainly picturesque.
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| Claude Monet, 1840-1926 Fishing Nets at Pourville, 1882 |
Alexej von Jawlensky
Alexej von Jawlensky is generally known for faces in wildly intense colors, like this one.
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| Alexej von Jawlensky, 1864-1941 Woman’s Face, c. 191 |
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| Alexej von Jawlensky, 1864-1941 Landscape at Oberstdorf, c. 1912 |
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky was the first abstract painter, and you could say he's still the best. He could be geometric and angular, or he could be organic and flowing, but he was always dynamic and colorful.
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| Wassily Kandinsky, 1866-1944 Painting with White Form, 1913 |
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| Wassily Kandinsky, 1866-1944 A Centre, 1924 |
Paula Modersohn-Becker
Paula Modersohn-Becker was a German expressionist who created images that were rough but intense. She died of an illness at the age of 31, so she didn't get a chance to develop a large body of work, and it is rare to see it in a museum.
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| Paula Modersohn-Becker, 1876-1907 Self-portrait with Hat and Veil, 1906 |
Picasso
Sometimes Picasso seems inscrutable, but this bemused face really speaks to me.
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| Pablo Picasso, 1881-1973 Woman with a Mustard Pot, 1910 |
Max Beckmann
Max Beckmann was deeply affected by World Wars I and II, and I think it gave a certain darkness to his style. He had a harsh, slashing brushstroke that made every scene look menacing. The next painting shows a couple exiting a small café through a revolving door. The woman has blonde hair and wears a feathered hat with a veil, and a large flower on her shoulder. Is this a society lady, or a hooker? The man's face is disproportionately large, but partly hidden by the door; he looks like a man who should be behind bars. Is he a gentleman, or a pimp?
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| Max Beckmann, 1884-1950 Little Pub/Revolving Door, 1944 |
Ludwig Meidner
Ludwig Meidner was a German expressionist painter with a dark view of life. In 1912 he did a series of paintings called "Apocalyptic Landscapes" in which he imagined the end of the world. In this one comets and earthquakes devastate the city.
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| Ludwig Meidner, 1884-1966 Apocalyptic Landscape, 1912 |
Agnes Martin
Meanwhile, back in the United States, Agnes Martin was relentless pursuing peace in her abstract paintings, always pale and horizontal, and always untitled.
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| Agnes Martin, 1912-2004 Untitled, 1995 |
Sol Lewitt
The museum has two corridors that are decorated by "wall drawings" of Sol Lewitt, one of my favorite artists. One corridor has these pairs of drawings on either side. These were designed for this particular space by the artist himself, but they were drawn by other "performers." I love the depth in these designs and the bold colors.
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| Sol Lewitt, 1928-2007 Wall Drawing #117 |
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| Sol Lewitt, 1928-2007 Wall Drawing #117 |
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| Sol Lewitt, 1928-2007 Isometric Forms, 2002 |
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| Sol Lewitt, 1928-2007 |
Bridget Riley
The museum had a special exhibit of works by English artist Bridget Riley, the pre-eminent practitioner of Op Art. This is the kind of work she was doing when she first came on the scene and blew everyone's mind. By the way, I confirmed the unlikely title of the first one.
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| Bridget Riley, 1931 White Discs 2, 1964 |
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| Bridget Riley, 1931 Descending, 1965 |
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| Bridget Riley, 1931 |
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| Bridget Riley, 1931 Orange Paired, 2013 |
The Sculpture Collection
The museum's sculpture collection includes some old standards and some surprising new forms.
Auguste Rodin is the grand old man of 19th century sculpture, and copies of this male nude may be seen in several museums.
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| Auguste Rodin, 1840-1917 The Age of Bronze, 1876 |
Louise Bourgeois was exceptionally long-lived and productive, and she worked with a wide variety of forms and materials. For several years she was pre-occupied with spider forms, and sculptures like this are frequently seen.
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| Louise Bourgeois, 1911-2010 Spider Couple, 2003 |
Minimalism in sculpture was represented by two American sculptors—Donald Judd and Carl André. Donald Judd dealt with box forms that are reminiscent of Mondrian's austere geometry.
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| Donald Judd, 1928-1994 Untitled, 1987 |
Carl André frequently worked with geometric arrangements of standard units of a certain material. André allows the viewer to appreciate the texture and mellow hue of the wood in the next work. A weir is a type of dam on a canal.
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| Carl André, 1935 Weir, 1983 |
Two contemporary sculptures were impressive but bewildering. A Belgian sculptor who calls himself Panamarenko dressed a mannequin in an imaginary gizmo for human-powered flight and the appropriate flight suit. The assemblage was suspended in such a way that the figure appeared to be landing in the foyer of the museum.
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| Panamarenko, b. 1940 Screw Propeller - Rucksack-with Aviator, 2005 |
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| Panamarenko, b. 1940 Screw Propeller - Rucksack-with Aviator, 2005 |
An American sculptor named Matthew Day Jackson, now 41 years of age, created one of the most extraordinary installations I have ever seen. It shows eight astronauts, carved from blocks of compressed wood and plastic, supporting a glass coffin containing a skeleton. The bearers may be carrying the coffin to its resting place, or they may be supporting it so that mourners can venerate the skeleton. The carving is stunningly intricate and varied and the the way it exposes the material is fascinating.
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| Matthew Day Jackson, b. 1974 The Tomb, 2010 |
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| Matthew Day Jackson, b. 1974 The Tomb, 2010 |
I made a quick dash through the Fashion department. It's interesting to recall that Mondrian was once so popular that his paintings inspired dress designs.
This display shows Asian influence on fashion.
I noticed this one because I have a friend who is into dragonflies, but I really like the design.
Conclusion
The Gemeentemuseum is an important venue for art of the modern era, and just about the only place in the country where you can see modern art from the Netherlands.
It took intense concentration to cover all this art. We worked separately. I paused a couple times for snacks in their pleasant cafeteria.
It seems hard to believe, but after we left the museum, Captain Dan persuaded me that we should take advantage of the late sunset to see the Hague's famous beach, called Scheveningen. The tram system is quite extensive, so we found a nearby stop where we could get a tram straight there. However, the beach scene is such a different subject that I'll put my photos in a separate post.
