Het Kröller-Müller Museum

The History

The Kröller-Müller museum is named after Helene Kröller-Müller (1869-1939). Helene

Kröller-Müller collected with help from her adviser H.P. Bremmer almost 11.500 pieces of
art. The purchases were payed from the capitel that her husband, Anton Kröller, gets as
director from the company Wm H. Müller&Co.
Helene Kröller dreams from a ‘museumhouse’; a dream which works out in 1938 as national
museum: ‘Kröller-Müller’ his doors opened for audience. Helene Kröller-Müller was the
first director.

After her death in 1939, the museum expanded a couple of times, in 1953 with a
congresswing and a sculpture gallery and between 1970 and 1977 a whole new wing. This
wing constitutes an appropriate accommodation for the growing collection of modern
sculpture. The sculpture garden from the museum grown in time from one of the biggest in
Europe.

The National Park The Hoge Veluwe

The museum is locates in the Hoge Veluwe National Park . The park covers 5,500 hectares
of woodland, heaths, grasslands and sand dunes and is the habitat for deer, wild sheep and
wild boars, the animals are all imported by train when the family had built the park. We
have visited the museum in autumn.

Review

Enjoyable, educational, admiration and sometimes wonder able, this is certainly subjective and dependent on
personal circumstances of the moment, but despite that I would for other people a plea to keep the museum to
visit it was originally a collection of art by fans of modern art and this idea is the permanent museum a
coherent and consistent interpretation given all people can relax in nature and enjoy it

The Collection

the collection of the museum is built around the extensive collection of works by Vincent
van Gogh, one of the most impressive statements of his oeuvre. Also George Seurat, Pablo
Picasso, Fernand Leger, Piet Mondrian and many other important paintings represented by
artists.

From 1961 the sculpture is also an important place. Here is a unique collection of
sculptures displayed. The sculpture gives an overview of developments in sculpture from
the 19th century to the present.

Het Kröller-Müller Museum toont van 17 september 2010 tot en met 20 februari 2011 twee
belangrijke nieuwe aanwinsten die in de context van de eigen collectie worden getoond.
Het gaat om de werken Ultimate Painting No. 39 van Ad Reinhardt en La Pièce van Ger van
Elk, in de tentoonstelling 'Welkom Ad Reinhardt, zwart en wit in de collectie van het
Kröller-Müller Museum'.

Ad Reinhardt (1913-1967) was an American artist in the abstract-geometric tradition with a

great admiration for Piet Mondrian. In his quest for the essence of art, he deleted more
and more of his artistic vocabulary until the end of the 50 canvases are painted only in
shades of black and basic cross compositions. He was the minimalist and conceptual artists
of decades later as an important precursor of their art seen. The Kröller-Müller Museum,
which has a superb collection of these artists, for years looked forward to an opportunity
to work Reinhardt add to the collection. Until now, there was no Dutch public a collection
of his works available. With support from the BankGiroLoterij, the Mondriaan Foundation
and the Rembrandt Titus with his fund in 2010 from American private collections this black
painting by Ad Reinhardt from 1960 acquired an amount of € 800,000.

La Pièce is a memorable work of art in art history and the Dutch in 2009 by the Kröller-
Müller Museum purchased. This work of the then 30-year Ger van Elk has grown into one of
the most famous works of conceptual art. Each of the work made in response to large-scale
works in his megalomania in minimal and land art arose. He wanted a work that covered
half the globe by the cleanest and most dust-free area of the ocean to paint a wooden
block. End in January 1971 he traveled on a freighter in the direction of Greenland to the
west of Iceland conscious piece to paint. The work embodied both a solid and critical
statement about how far the working without material of art could go (a topic, it’s not the
topic of this year) but also opened new and unprecedented opportunities for the
application of time, space and process in the art. For the Kröller-Müller Museum is the
work important because it has built a focus around the key developments in the visual art
of the '60s and '70s of the last century, About the minimal art, land art, arte povera and
conceptual art, which now has become clear that this is the last avant-garde movements
started. The collection of the museum is also the term 'sculpture' the central and
especially critical relationship with nature. Polarizing nature of artworks that fit within
these themes heard in the Kröller-Müller Museum, home. La Pièce was purchased with
support from the BankGiroLoterij the hands of the Kröller-Müller Foundation Fund for an
amount of € 175,000.

The two acquisitions are presented with works by European and American contemporaries
and admirers of Ad Reinhardt from the collection of the museum including Armando,
Elsworth Kelly and Carl Andre.
Gilbert & George: The Paintings

July 9, 2010 to November 21, 2010

From July the 9th is in the big sculptureroom in the Quistvleugel ‘The Paintings’ (with US
in the nature) 1971 from Gilbert & George represented. These special sculptures from 1971
exist of 6 giant painted triptychs (three blocks of towels) . The artists called them in that
time a ‘new romantic sad beautiful sculpture’. It’s the beginning of the winter of 1970-
1971 when they recreate in oil on canvas the feelings they experienced during the
preceding summer in the English countryside.

This is the only sculpture from these ‘human sculptures’ in this technique. The 60s and 70s
were the era of artistic experimentation stretched around a concept of art: artists
broadened the possibilities for art on a large scale and with an enormous ingenuity that
still inspires. In that year Gilbert and George used several new and traditional techniques
to a personal experience she had experienced in space and time again as an art experience
to convey to the public. Famous they become their pose as living sculptures in museums,
with makeup on their faces and hands, but they also sent printed sculptures around post,
singing and dancing musical sculptures, produced video sculptures, made drawings and
sculptures and wrote sculpture in the form of books.

Huge photographic prints were their main form of artistic expression. In The Paintings
(with Us in the Nature), they put out their relationship to nature. They pictured themself
sitting and strolling down an overwhelming presence in nature. In each triptych (each 230
x 680 cm) as a counterpoint always an element of the culture there. Within the context of
the museum and its collection, which (critical) views on a paradise spearhead, will present
The Paintings (with Us in the Nature) may come to its best advantage.

In the print room are both photographs and sculptures of charcoal on paper of Gilbert &
George from the collection of the museum.
The Routing

The Routing in the museum is the logical, the temporary exhibitions are housed in separate
wings and the permanent collection is housed in different wings, making it clear. Within
the temporary and permanent exhibitions, the logical route, the exhibitions are drawn on
either side of a corridor, if you keep all the rooms on one side in a row and then looks back
is through the other side and then watch as all rooms.

Devices used in the design

The funds are mainly used in the building and its surroundings. There is almost no use of
means other than the walls of the building. The organizers have designed the rooms so that
the collection gives a good picture in time and artists. It is possible clustered.

Creating a lasting monument - from farm to national park De Hoge Veluwe

April 24, 2010 to November 7, 2010

In 2010, celebrating the National Park The Hog Veluwe his 75- years anniversary, is the
occasion fora n exhibition dedicated to the unique history of the park.
At the beginning of the twentieth century Anton and Helene Kröller-Müller bought large
tracts of land in the Veluwe. They set it initially rather rough area in its sole discretion and
create their estate with a park like appearance. Despite the private nature, the couple had
a larger goal: creating a lasting monument, where nature and art were united in a rare
manner. " The Foundation The National Park De Hoge Veluwe acquired the estate in 1935.
From that moment it is open to visitors and belongs to "the Community".

The park is characterized by its natural beauty and the small and large 'monuments'
remarkable way in which one in place. Although the Kröllers thought the community
thoughts played a role is the original private character from the park still good to find, if
only by the presence of the St. Hubertus Hunting Lodge, where Anton and Helene Kröller-
Müller lived for several years.

The exhibition will outline the development of the ideas underlying the establishment of
National Park De Hoge Veluwe. With examples in words and pictures will be disclosed in
the way the park has been given its final shape. Using letters, documents and working
drawings, plans are exposed, whether or not achieved. In addition, historic photographs
gives a picture of developments in the park from the first purchase. The exhibition will
focus increasingly to the private character of the park opposite the Community Thought

My reaction

The park de Hoge Veluwe is a special place.

Not all the exhibitions I found as beautiful, especially the temporary exhibitions were very
modern and I do not like that so much, I don’t understand that. 6 faces in red with rivets
on a canvas, in my eyes very abstract, even though the artist intended it as minimalist.
Especially when the title is: 6x red. The permanent display is world famous and it is special
to see works by Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries so close. The famous works are
often behind a glass in the list that you can barely see, but the paintings are protected
from all visitors and their fingers. It’s particularly that such a unique museum has that
many tourists from outside the Netherlands, when we were there, we have seen groups of
Americans and Japanese. The sculpture garden is a unique collection of images, generally
abstract. It is unique by its composition and diversity of artists. My interest in images is
awakened after my mother told me the story of "Le Tamitour" the image of Alexander
Calder in Hoogvliet state and especially when I hear what it's worth about € 4.000.000, -.
In the sculpture, I found not all equally beautiful.
Organisation

Director Dr. Evert van Straaten

Executive Secretary Drs. Wanda Vermeulen

Business Deputy Director Rinus Vonhof

Main Collection and Presentation Drs. Liz Kreijns

Marketing & Sponsorship Drs. Lidewij Valk Huff

Press & Publicity Drs. Wanda Vermeulen
Press & Publicity / web editor Sylvia Gentenaar
Education Drs. Herman Tibosch
Project coordinator Esther van Maanen
Curator research Drs. Toos van Kooten
Paintings conservator Luuk van der Loeff Rutgers
Conservator of modern art and sculpture Drs. Sanneke Stigter
Restorer sculpture Kate Lookeren Campaign
Registrar / Coordinator Andre Collection Straatman
Coordinator / restorer loans Bernadette van Beek
Technical Service Steven van Beek
Financial affairs Michiel van Wijk
HR Arnold Beumer
Shop / Commercial Affairs Margaret Nab-of Wakeren
Garden Service Eddie Morren
Technical service installations and Buildings John Stegeman
Housekeeping Hannah Bare Burg-Hol

By: Jorien Cornelissen, A4A, CKV