Ten weeks in Europe beginning in early April. In search of Art almost everywhere on the continent. The first stop was an overnight in
AMSTERDAM. Still plenty of time to take a few pictures:
And just a bit of Architecture and public art.
Sculpture at
Westerpark:
Next stop: ATHENS. A little Art in the airport:
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| Two Incredible Sitting Black Snowmen by Tom Classen, 2000 |
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| Four Seasons by Rob Birza, 2000 |
And some at the Thanassas Frissiras Museum of Contemporary Art, which was founded in
2000. From the collection of art from the second half of the 20th
century, they assembled a show called "New Horizons" with artists from
Poland, Moldava, and Greece.
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| Gorilla's Garden by Viola Glowacka, 2016 |
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| B.P. Jungle by Viola Glowacka, 2016 |
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| Rich Bitch II (with a dog) by Viola Glowacka, 2014 |
A little of what documenta 14 had to offer in Athens:
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| 3 by Alexander Tinei (Moldova), 2009 |
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| Naughty Children by Edi Hila, 1970 |
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| art by Georgia Sagri, 2017 |
With a response:
Plus a lot of street Art:
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| Costas Pliatsilkas |
IERAPETRA is a small city on the southern coast of Crete. No Art, but a pleasant place nonetheless.
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| Kale's Fort, 1626 |
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| Nearby MAKRY GIALOS |
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| in the Koutsouras Forest |
A quick flight to Nederland with the first stop
ALKMAAR, about an hour north of Amsterdam.
Like a miniature Amsterdam, it has all the shops one could hope for in a quaint setting.
Began with visit to
Stedelijk Museum. Its all Dutch Art here. From the
Modern Art Circle to
De Stijl, there have been an abundance of art groups in Nederland over the years, both in Amsterdam and at the shore. The Bergense School consisted of artists that spent the summer in Bergen. Besides
Piet Mondriaan,
Charly Toorop (nee Annie Caroline Pontifex Fernhout-Toorop) was on all of the membership lists.
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| Alkmaar Cheese Market by Charley Toorop, 1932 |
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| Spanish Gypsy by Jan Sluijters, c 1947 |
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| Still Life by Else Berg, before 1924 |
The
Kranenburg Museum is in neighboring
BERGEN. Unfortunately, not much to offer:
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| Charley Toorop by Matthieu Wiegman, 1940 |
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| Flora by Pauline Eecen, 1955 |
My new base was in
EGMOND AAN ZEE. A cozy spot in an interesting town next to a long, wide beach. While cool, there were lots of people there catching whatever rays they could find. Others used the beach to train harness racers. Sulkies and all. There are cabins and storage lockers, as well as restaurants and cafes down on the beach. The town is not old, but still quaint with plenty of shop windows to peruse.
Drove south to
DEN HAGUE and the
Gemeentemuseum. Built in the 1930's, it is a delightful building filled with Art.
From nice surprises:
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| Poppyfield by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890 |
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| Oannes by Odilon Redon, c 1905 |
To a large collection
Piet Mondriaan and other Dutch artists.
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| Evolution by Piet Mondriaan, 1911 |
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| Devotion by Piet Mondriaan, 1908 |
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| Farm Near Duivendrecht by Piet Mondriaan, 1916 |
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| Two Trees by Jacoba Van Heemskerck, 1908-10 |
To lots of international superstars.
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| Portrait of Dolly by Kees van Dongen, 1909 |
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| Child TV by Karel Appel, 1951 |
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| Self-Portrait with Hat & Veil by Paula Modersohn-Becker, 1906-07 |
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| Portrait of Edit (The Artists Wife) by Egon Schiele, 1915 | |
Den Hague is near the coast, but SCHEVENINGEN, home of the Beelden aan Zee museum, is right on the sand. The museum is based around a large open area where there was an exhibition entitled Stopover by Auke de Vries. I thought it was fun. Like 3D Kandinskys.
Also a bit of statuary
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| Boeer met blauwe muts by Karel Appel, 1975 |
Just down the boardwalk one finds the world of
Tom Otterness and his
Fairytale Figures by the Sea. There are 23 pieces installed, here are just a few:
A few more pieces around town:
ROTTERDAM is the largest port in Europe and Nederland's second largest city. While there are sculptures sprinkled throughout, the modern art was found at the
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen which has extensive collections to enjoy. Mostly Dutch and Belgian, but there was so much more. I noted more women artists displayed than usual. Here are a few:
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| Due Donne by Leonor Fini, 1939 |
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| Portrait of the Late Mrs Partridge by Leonora Carrington, 1947 |
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| Voltage by Dorothea Tanning, 1942 |
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| La bataille des couteaux by Maria Elena Vieira da Silva, 1948 |
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| Three Generations by Charley Toorop, 1941-50 |
In this painting, Toorop includes herself and her son as well as a portrait done of her father by
John Radecker (also in the museum's collection).
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| Portrait of Jan Toorup by John Radecker, 1932 |
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| (found this online) |
The city showcases many sculptures, from Zadkine's
Destroyed City to
Fikkie.
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| Destroyed City by Ossip Jadkine, 1950 |
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| Fikkie by Joeki Simak, 1999 |
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| Santa Claus by Paul McCarthy, 2005 |
This last one has other favorite names among the locals.
SCHIEDAM is just west of Rotterdam.
And has it's own museum, Stediljk Museum Schiedam. Not huge, but had a couple of nice things.
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| Danseres met Vogels by Jan Nieuwenhuijs, 1951 |
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| lithos by Karel Appel |
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| unusual piece by Arnaldo Pomodoro, 1956 |
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| Vega-Pai by Victor Vasarely, 1969 |
And check out the Delft tile on this underwear store:
I had to leave my beachside abode now to reach
DORDRECHT, home of
Dordrecht's Museum, familiarly called
Schilderijenmuseum (the paintings museum). Not much to offer.
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| Landscape with Canal by Jan Toorop, 1894 |
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| Study for Heavenly and Earthly Love by Jan Sluijters, nd |
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| Child, Church, Animal by Karel Appel, 1949 |
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| Portrait of Greet van Cooten by Jan Sluijters, 1927 |
(The artist's wife.)
I stopped in ZUNDERT, the town in which Vincent Van Gogh was born, and paid to go into the museum. Nothing at all, really, unless you don't know anything about VVG. Nearby is a sculpture commission from Ossip Zadkine. OZ was also commissioned to do a sculpture of VVG in Auvers-sur-Oise (where he died). This piece includes Vincent's brother, Theo.
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| Vincent and Theo by Ossip Zadkine, 1964 |
And a bit more sculpture:
And then on to EINDHOVEN, in the eastern part of Nederlands. Fifth largest in Nederlands. Lots of sculptures.
END OF PART 1
From nice surprises:
