.: Europe 2018 - Part Two

Then we flew to The Netherlands for a week outside EINDHOVEN. Another world from Croatia. We began with the Van Abbe, a museum of modern and contemporary art in central Eindhoven on the bank of the Dommel River. Established in 1936, the museum is named after its founder, Henri van Abbe, collector of Modern Art. Here is some of what we saw there:

Haymaking by Kazimir Malevich, 1928-29

Woman with hat by Henri Matisse, 1905

Augustusrucke, Dresden by Oskar Kokoschka, 1923

Civilian Defense by Dan Petermank, 2007

Listening Figure by Juan Munoz

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About an hour south of Eindhoven, and just east of MAASTRICHT, is the Ronald McDonald House in the town of VALKENBURG AAN DE GEUL. This is significant because it was designed by Hundertwasser and completed in 2007, seven years after his passing. Another masterpiece.

No interest in the show at the Bonnefanten museum, so with no other art attraction in Maastricht, we opted to walk around.

Relatie by Sjra Schoffelen, 1987

Other side trips included one to TILBURG, where we found the Museum de Pont, a former factory space with lots of small rooms with doors, lots of big open space, lots of twists and turns. And contemporary art.

Sky Mirror (for Hendrik) by Anish Kapoor, 2017

Examples by Ai Weiwei and Howard Hodgkin, gave the collection some international appeal.

Grapes 2010 by Ai Weiwei, 2010.

Yellow Sky by Howard Hodgkin, 2009-2010

Learning about Russian Music by Howard Hodgkin, 1999

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Vincent van Gogh lived in Tilburg from 1863-66, where he went to school and was allegedly taught to paint. The house is marked and there is a special couch outside.

CLICK HERE for a few more pictures from Tilburg

And then there was Eindhoven. A vibrant city with Art all around. Well, Art and other things:

Flying Pins by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, 2000

Expansive by Toon Slegers, 2013

CLICK HERE FOR MORE OF EINDHOVEN AREA.

Then we began our time in Belgium, beginning with a stay outside ATH, in Arbre. Walking around Ath, an ancient city surrounded by a square moat, we discovered Triennale de l'Art et du Végétal. This was the fourth edition of a show featuring art installations by eleven artists utilizing mostly natural materials all over the city. Such as:

Semences by Jean-Yves Bonnaudet & Bruno Magda

Arbre votif renverse by Theo Ronse

New World by Choi Hyesu

Side trips included one to the hippodrome outside MONS, where we saw a lot of jumping.

And a visit to LESSINES, which is not only the birthplace of René Magritte,

there was some sort of Art show going on involving a group of artists called "Less'Art." We visited a few venues and Marie made some purchases.

by Patrick Delvingt

Bénédicte Meekers

by Magali Rousseau

Donkeymotion Projects by Valentin Kanellopoulos

And then there was this fabulous band playing in the doorway of Centre Culturel René Magritte.

And a little bit more of Lessines:

We were in GHENT on a day filled with festivals, most of which we could not find. But it was Saturday, so there were Bachelorettes and the Belgian team was playing for third place in the World Cup. Here are a few shots:

We visited the Fondation Folon in LA HULPE. Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon installed over five hundred art works in the Ferme du Château de La Hulpe, just twenty minutes outside Brussels. Folon opened the renovated 1833 farmhouse as a museum in 2000, five years before he died.

The Symbol by Folon, 1988

L'Espace by Folon, 1982

Femme-Oiseau by Folon, 1990

Marine by Folon, 1998

L'Homme Qui Plantait des Arbres by Folon, 1982

And we dropped in at the Hergé Museum in OTTIGNEIES-LOOUYAIN-LA-NEUVE. Georges Prosper Remi, known by the pen name Hergé created the universally popular The Adventures of Tintin and the museum is a delight.

We ventured up to BRUGES to see the Triennial (May 5 - Sept 16). The theme: Liquid City. Most pieces, which were largely architectural, were in, on, or next to the canals. We did our best to find them all:

Infinity by Peter van Dressche Atelier4

Brug (The Kissing Bridge) by Jaroslaw Kozakie

Selgascano Pavilion by Selgascano

Lanchals by John Powers

Skyscraper (the Bruges Whale) by StudioKCA

The Floating Island by OBBA

Acheron I by Renato Nicolodi

Bloom by Bloom Games, 2012.

Fountain of Life by Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian

CLICK HERE for a few more pics from this part of Belgium.

Our base of operations moved to a farm compound in a field in POTTES. I should say "former" farm, because although there are donkeys residing there, in addition to the main house, there are now a music studio, a stage for performance, a forge with two anvils, a clay studio with two wheels, and the donkeys are "mini." I could go on and on about Ferme du Ruisseau, but this is an Art blog. I will say that, together with its proximity to the River Scheldt and the bike paths on either side, this was a most extraordinary stay.

We visited the city of TOURNAI the first few days we were there. Less than twenty kilometers south of the farm (half-hour by car, one hour by bicycle), we found this city of about 77,000 fascinating.

Known as Tornacum, in Roman times, it is also called DORNIC by Belgium's Flemish residents. The Scheldt runs right through its center. Their five-spired cathedral is its most prestigious building. Construction on Notre Dame of Tournai began in 1146, and they're still working on it. I might suggest that the best building is the Musée des Beaux-Arts which was designed by famous Art-Nouveau architect, Victor Horta.

Regardless, there are several other museums, and lots of fun buildings, as well as generous pedestrian areas leading to the riverfront and its gothic gate. And look as hard as we may, a piece of litter was not to be found on any street. Let us begin with the Musée des Beaux-Arts. Since it was 1928 when the museum opened, Horta had shifted his focus from Art-Nouveau and the design represents a transition to Art Deco. The only museum he ever designed, Horta died just a few months later. Here are a few shots from our visit:

Argenteuil by Edouard Manet, 1874

Jeune femme accoudee (Marie Valette, amie du peintre) by Louis Anquetin, 1890

Oliviers a Montmajour by Vincent Van Gogh, 1888

La greve du bas butin a Honfleur (Marine) by George Seurat, 1886

Portrait feminin by Armand Rassenfosse

La dame en gris by Jean Winance

Perimele (Ondine on la nymphe de Capri) by Leonce Legendre, 1864

CLICK HERE are a few more.

Outside we found a statue honoring local painter Paul Gallait and later found one dedicated to Tournai-resident Rogier Van Der Weyden.

Paul Gallait

Vieux Marché aux Poteries - monument à Roger de le Pasture dit "Van der Weyden" by Marcel Wolfers, 1936

We were in Tournai for Belgium National Day (21 July) and celebrated with the locals.

And we got Le Clovis, a local spicy cake named for the first king of the Franks. Le Quenoy was recommended as a good place to get one. The shop was beautifully Nouveau and very near the train station.

Here are some more shots from around Tournai:

Cathedral interior

Across the river from Pottes, in SPIERE-HELKIJN they celebrate the arts with Kunstzomer in de Leiestreek, four months of arts activities around the area. One venue, that day, was an old pumphouse and facility for the old (1935) swimming pool overlooking the river, that had been recently fixed up for a show of art by Carlos Cauluwier.

Carlos Cauluwier

Next to it was the ruin of the huge public swimming pool where there was an installation.

On the other side of the village is Kunstkerk Bossuit, an arts venue born from an old church. Without the roof or windows. The design of the terrazzo floor recalls the church that was destroyed during the war. The space is used for a variety of events. Black & white photo enlargements by Tom Linsteron were hung on the exposed walls for us to see.

Back at the ferme, Anne-Mie (our hostess) threw a couple of plates in her studio so that Marie could paint on them the following day.

We went to the Belgian shore at MIDDELKERK, where we found a few pieces of sculpture: The is Beeldenparc Beaufort (Beaufort Sculpture Park) which, in 2018, celebrated its sixth edition with sculptures all around the region.

I can hear it by Ivars Drulle

Caterpillar 5bis by Wim Delvoye, 2004

Olnetop by Nick Ervinck

Agent 212 by Mathias De Wolf

And just down the coast in OOSTDUINKERKE watched men trawl for shrimp from the backs of enormous Belgian draft horses, as well as women doing the same but while walking through the surf on their own two feet. There are sculptures:

Cloned Paardenvisser by William Sweetlove

Also at the beach:

We drove to TOURCOING in search of the Muba-Eugene Leroy Museum, which, unfortunately, was closed for three months to set up new show. So we continued on to BETHUNE, over the border in France. A woman there told me that, with the temps nearing 100 degrees, it was the hottest since 1943. And there wasn't much to see, besides the Art-Deco Grand-Place which was rebuilt in 1923 after it was completely destroyed by German bombing during WWI. The Belfry was about all that remained.

Similarly, when Saint Vaast's was rebuilt in the twenties, stylish mosaics were included.

We continued in France to DOUAI and found a free parking space across the street from the Musée des Beaux-Arts. A neat old place, admission was just over four euros for both of us.

Portrait of a Woman by Paolo Caliari, dit Veronese, 1560-1565

The Young Man and the Old Woman by Hendrick Goltzius

Young girl with a Dove by Jean-Baptiste Greuze

C'est n'etait pas mon temps... by de Patricia Zurini

La Nymphe des Eaux by Charles-Henri-Joseph Cordier

More of Douai:

Selene by Norbert Treca, 1994.

Field Day 2 by Barry Flanagan, 1987

We returned to France for our visit to LILLE, just forty minutes from Pottes. Destination: Palais des Beaux-Arts.

One of the first art museums built in France, under Napoleon, the Palais is one of the largest in the country.

Berger Landais by Rosa Bonheur

Vanite by Alfred Agache, 1890

Les Vaches by Vincent Van Gogh, 1890

Le Silence by Odilon Redon, c 1895-1900

Dans l'atelier, la pose du modele by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Berthe Morisot a l'eventail by Edouard Manet, 1874.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

LaM is the Musée d'art moderne d'art contemporain et d'art brut. It began as the collection of Roger Dutilleul which was then added to by his nephew and heir, leading to the current museum. Outside are a few nice sculptures including two by Calder and one we liked which was done by Picasso. Flanagan contributed a horse on a sidewalk and a pair of rabbits (inside museum).

Guillotine pour huit by Alexander Calder, 1963

Femme aux bras ecartes by Pablo Picasso, 1962

Between Fiction and Fact by Richard Deacon, 1992

Inside were a few true paintings of modern art with too many Picasso, lots of Leger, Braque, and Modig. Fun museum with strange layout that worked (addition designed by Ms. Manuelle Gautrand) included lots of Brut art, a couple of rooms of contemporary, and galleries of art from recycled material.

La Roche-Guyon by Georges Braque, summer 1909

Le Mecanicien by Fernand Leger, 1918

Femme lippue by Kees van Dongen, 1909

La Danse I & 2 by André Derain, c 1906

Nu assis a la chemise by Amedeo Modigliani, 1917

The Boxers by Barry Flanagan, 1985

Totem women à tête zoomorphe by Theo Wiesen, 1972-77

Architecture inachevee by A.C.M.

Armée des Indes avec éléphant,c 1976

no title by Marie-Rose Lortet

Site aleatoire avec deux personnages (F77) by Jean Dubuffet, 1982

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And, of course, a few pictures from around town:

Porte d'Arras, 14th cent

In line for frites.

Ceramique Colliot by Hector Guimard

Porte de Grand

Gare de Lille-Flanders, formerly Gare du Nord of Paris.

We enjoyed an adventure in MELDERT-AALST at the Belgium Paardenprijskamp (translates to Horse Prize Camp). This was a national competition for Belgian draft horses.

On the abutting field, the 49th International Pikkeling Festival began in the afternoon. There were displays of tractors and other farm equipment, demonstrating artists like lace tatter, basket maker, etc., but we found this charming recreation of harvesting grain in the old days.

In KORTRIJK, in Flanders, they were playing the City Game, which involved young people of different age groups to interact with artistic installations all around town. Actually it was pretty confusing, but here are a few shots from around town: