Dave Douglas composed a suite to celebrate the 600th anniversary of The Ghent Altarpiece by the van Eyck brothers. When the American trumpeter and composer plays in Belgium, he usually pays a visit to this impressive triptych in Ghent’s St Bavo Cathedral. Douglas was very impressed by the recently uncovered original version from which The […]
art
Rob Scholte: ‘Reproduction Obliged’
The latest retrospective of Rob Scholte in the Netherlands took place in Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam: How to Star (1988). More than three decades later, De Fundatie in Zwolle presents Reproduction Obliged, a varied selection from the painted oeuvre of the ‘king of copyright’. Scholte has been preoccupied with the meaning of the […]
Karel Appel’s ‘Wall of Energy’
Ten years after WW II, Rotterdam presented itself as a reborn city. The 1955 National Energy Manifestation took place at three locations: the Ahoy hall, The Park and the newly built Energy Hall next to the Boijmans – Van Beuningen Museum. Queen Juliana opened the exhibition, which was dominated by lust for life, willpower and […]
Vincent van Gogh, a rolling stone avant-la-lettre
In 1990, one hundred years after the painter’s death, I saw a retrospective of much of Vincent van Gogh’s (1853-1890) work. The Kröller-Müller Museum showed his etchings and drawings, the Van Gogh museum displayed the paintings. Seeing the oeuvre of the Dutch painter develop from day tot day I had the idea of understanding him […]
Trip to Northern Island
Those who spend their holidays on a small island are forced to narrow their focus. You can explore a few square kilometers, without fearing to miss anything. Something similar happened these weeks. From one day to the next my range was limited to the space of my home. Since the days last longer and temperatures […]
Xaviera Altena’s colourful, positive and funny illustrations
In the summer of 2018 I came across an eye-catching Loesje poster in the city center of Rotterdam. I was struck by its powerful brightly red illustration and its positive caption: ‘To say what you think, can also be something nice’. I wondered who had created the image. I found out that this was a […]