Boijmans Van Beuningen
A visit to Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is a journey through the history of art. Dutch and European masterpieces provide a comprehensive survey of art from the early Middle Ages to the 21st century, from Bosch, Rembrandt and Van Gogh to Dalí and Christo.
Art CollectionMuseum Boijmans Van Beuningen is one of the oldest museums in the Netherlands. In 1849 the lawyer Boijmans left his art collection to the city of Rotterdam. With the acquisition of the Van Beuningen collection in 1958 the museum got the second part of its name. The museum houses a unique collection of paintings, sculptures and everyday objects. Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen has world-class collections of old masters, modern and contemporary art, applied arts and design. It houses approximately 140,000 objects. The collection of prints and drawings is one of the best in the world. The museum also organises a diverse programme of spectacular temporary exhibitions throughout the year. For an updated overview of the exhibitions & activities, visit www.boijmans.nl.
Stately BeaconThe museum’s monumental building opened in 1935. It was designed by the municipal architect Van der Steur specially to house the collection. The stately redbrick building contains both large galleries where art can be viewed in daylight and more intimate spaces. The building survived the bombing of the city in 1940 and has been extended several times over the years. To this day the building’s tower remains a beacon in the city.
The Collection TwoThe structure of ‘The Collection Two’ is essentially chronological, but certain art-historical periods receive particular attention. Within painting there is a focus on Rembrandt, Rubens and the Surrealists, and within drawing on Dürer, Michelangelo, Fra Bartolommeo, Rubens, Piranesi, Boucher and Cézanne. Among the highlights of the presentations of household objects are dining culture of the Renaissance, the 17th-century bourgeois interior, modernist design of the 1920s and 1930s, and contemporary design.
The displays of modern art begin with the Dutch Romantics and end with the art of the interwar years. Highlights include the French Impressionists and works on paper from around 1900, including an extraordinary mantelpiece by G.W. Dijsselhof acquired in 2007. Iconic modernist works by Magritte, Dalí and Kokoschka are combined with recent acquisitions by Yves Tanguy, Joseph Cornell and Max Beckmann.
New display cases have been designed for the prints and drawings in ‘The Collection Two’. The contents of the display cases will be changed every three months. The cases and the displays have been designed by the stylist Maarten Spruyt.
InformationFor more information, visit www.boijmans.nl.
