Although I have mentioned the many museums I visited in the trip description, I wanted to do a page just focused on the paintings I saw, more as an aide memoire for myself.
Fondation Pierre Gianadda – Martigny
Jean Dubuffet’s paintings filled the main gallery of the museum. I did not really like his earlier bright paintings. He then moved to a phase of rather gloomy examination of textures, which I preferred. His last work was bright and very abstract, which I liked best of all. The gallery was also exhibiting painting by Sam Szafran. He was obsessed by staircases at one stage and I rather liked these paintings. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pics at this museum but you can see some on their website. This museum also has a substantial collection of Gallo-Roman artefacts.
Sammlung Rosengart – Luzern
This museum displays the collection of Sigfried Rosengart and his daughter, Angela. I was amazed by the number of Picassos. That he was a friend of the Rosengarts is obvious from several portraits of Angela in the collection. They are more flattering than most of his portraits of women. I think they have one of his large later nudes, and I saw another in the series in the Kunsthaus in Zurich and at the Stedelijk museum in Amsterdam. I sometimes find Picasso’s depiction of women displeasing, especially in some of his later works but these large nudes are rather jolly amazons.
There is also a substantial collection of Paul Klee’s work and other artists such as Matisse, Cezanne, Modigliani, Braque, Miro and Chagall. A gorgeous Kandinsky caught my eye. I wish I had had more time to take a better look.
Oskar Reinhart Am Rӧmerholz
This was without doubt one of the loveliest museums I visited. I hope to return one day. Not only were the paintings wonderful, they are still hung as the collector arranged them in the villa which was his home. In many cases one can see the links between the paintings and it is fascinating to observe the emergence of impressionism in artists one does not associate with the movement. There are several Couberts and Corots and one gorgeous Daumier of a clown whose ruffles could have been painted by one of the impressionists. There is a Dutch landscape painted in 1651 beside a Constable painted in 1825 and one can see that landscape painting has barely changed in the 150 years, but 30 years later things would be very different.
There is also a gallery of Lucas Cranach the elder’s paintings. One in particular I really liked, but I have been unable to find a title for it. There is another lovely Cranach in the Krӧller-Mϋller museum of Venus and Cupid, who has stolen honey and is being attacked by bees.
As I grow older I find myself drawn to portraits more. Close to each other are 2 striking portraits of women. David painted the Baroness Pauline Jeanin 1812. No beauty, but such merry eyes. Ingres portrait is of Delphine Ingres- Ramel 1859 (was she his daughter/sister?)
There are 3 van Gogh paintings in the collection and I was struck by the cheerful colours used in painting the garden in the courtyard of the hospital at Arles. There is also a fine portrait of Augustine Roulin painted in 1888. Sharing almost the same pose as Modigliani’s Caryatid is a lovely Renoir nude of a sleeping girl. It isn’t quite as cloying as I find some of his other nudes. Flesh of a different kind was to be seen in Goya’s 3 salmon steaks.
If I could have had one painting from this collection, it would be the Monet of the Break up of Ice on the Seine 1880-1881. I sat and looked at it for some time. I am not sure why it appealed so much.
I hope to go back one day for another visit and to see the sculpture in the garden. I cannot imagine how lovely it must have been to have lived surrounded by those paintings.
Kunsthaus Zürich
This is a big museum spread across 2 buildings. I saw very little of it and only had time for a short visit to the Bϋhrle collection of mainly impressionist paintings and a room of more modern paintings in the other building. Controversy surrounds how Emil Bϋhrle, who had a large Swiss arms factory, assembled his large collection so rapidly during and after WWII.
There is no doubt there are some stunning paintings in the Bϋhrle collection, but somehow the collection as a whole did not appeal to me as much as that of Oskar Reinart. Perhaps because here I could not perceive any dialogue between the paintings. I immediately saw a Renoir and van Gogh that feature on jigsaw puzzles (Is this a measure of a painting’s fame?) The collection has some stunning van Gogh paintings including one version of the sower. Sadly my photo is fuzzy. There is also an interesting early Picasso, The Italian woman. I also spotted another Ingres portrait that I liked and many others too numerous to list.
I dashed across to the other building, noting a very large Robert Delauney painting in the foyer. In the Kunsthaus collection itself I noticed another of the large Picasso nudes that he painted towards the end of his life and a rather nice Kandinsky, Black spot. I took a photo of a painting which appealed, and I cannot remember the painter. I have listed it in the gallery as mystery. Can anyone guess? The painting I would have tucked under my arm and carried out in this museum though was Woman in a mirror by Alice Bailly. I had never hear of her before, but we saw some more of her works in Lausanne.
MCBA in Lausanne
This new museum is definitely worth a visit if you find yourself in the city. Situated near the train station. K and I had a quick look at the collection on my last Sunday in Geneva. Both of us admired a portrait of a young woman at the piano by Charles Giron. I also rather liked a large painting of women peering into a pond- very art nouveau. Sadly I cannot track the artist’s name on their website. The day before, at the museum in Fribourg, I had admired 3 paintings by Jean Crotti – another new name. Travelling one finds out how little one knows of art beyond the big names. One is exposed to local artists one had never heard of such as Felix Vallaton, Charles Geyre, Ferdinand Hodler.
Van Gogh Museum – Amsterdam
One of the main reasons for my visit to Amsterdam was to see the van Gogh museum and I must admit to being a tad disappointed. I am not sure if that was because it was crowded. We visited over the weekend and met lots of sad people outside who were unable to get a time slot. I think it might also have to do with the lighting which is very subdued, but this is probably because the colour in his paintings had apparently faded a lot. This makes one think about other museums which still have fairly bright lighting. In fact I was amazed at how fresh his paintings looked in the Bϋhrle collection and not quite as “textured” as I expected. Had they been restored maybe? Have other painters’ works also faded, or did he use different paint? I should find out more.
The van Gogh museum had an interesting display of his paintings of olive trees and another of his self-portraits. The museum was very educational, explaining his awareness of the colour wheel and other points. Somehow though the paintings did not sing to me. I regret I did not visit again at a less crowded time.
Stedelijk Museum – Amsterdam
This museum is also situated on Museumplein near the van Gogh and Rijks museum and it has a collection of modern art. The collection on display was not extensive but had some lovely works, including some works by Malevich, a large Picasso nude, a lovely painting of Augustine Roulin by van Gogh. He must have painted her often as I saw several portraits of her. She has red hair and is always wearing green. The painting I was most taken with was a simple still life of a frying pan and box of matches by Lucie Dam van Isselt. It had the simplicity of a Morandi and also reminded me of the still life with dustpan by Aimėe Moreau in the Museum at Lausanne .
MOCA- Amsterdam
This museum of contemporary art is based in an old house on Museumplein and is well worth a visit. Not large, it was packed with big names in contemporary art. They had a Banksey exhibition, some Jeff Coons sculpture, a colourful fun installation called Studio Irma and various other works. I regret I took no pics.
Rijks Museum- Amsterdam
The Rijks is huge and does not just contain paintings, but has collections of china, glass, model ships, jewellery and many other things. It is impossible to do it justice in one visit. I did see a lovely porcelain vase in a temporary exhibition of Asian art and I very much admired a Crivelli painting of Mary Magdalene in the Renaissance section. Surely it served as inspiration to art nouveau and pre-Raphaelite painters? On the 19th century floor my favorites were a picture of children paddling and a painting of the sea by Jan Toorop who was father of Charley Toorop. The Krӧller-Mϋller has several of her paintings.
The best part for me is the floor of 17th century art, covering the golden period of Dutch still life painting. I was fascinated to see how various things kept recurring as if there was a competition about who could paint the best oysters, or curl of lemon peel or green roemer (goblet).
This floor also has several works by Vermeer, but I was very sad that The Milkmaid was missing. It had been loaned to the Hermitage museum, but as the exhibition there had just closed, I did not get to see it in either spot. I was able to enjoy at least 2 Avercamp paintings though. One is very large and full of skaters, including a woman wearing goggles! The Rijks also has many Rembrandt works including The Nightwatch. It is a very big painting and was surrounded by viewers, so I didn’t get a good look. There were also lots of portraits by other artists from the period.
Mauritshuis- Den Haag
This museum occupies an old house in The Hague (Den Haag) which was once the home of Johan Maurits of Nassau. He was sent as Governor of Dutch Brazil in 1637, taking with him artists and scientists. This led to the publication of Historia naturalis Brazilae in 1648. He returned to live in the mansion the museum now occupies. It is unclear how many of the works housed there he collected as it only became a museum a lot later. His connection to slave trading is noted in the museum.
This is a lovely museum, not too big and housing some amazing paintings. There is a good collection of Rembrandt’s works and lots of still life paintings. The museum had a separate exhibition of flower paintings. There is an enormous painting of cattle and sheep in the landscape showing great detail. The star is Vermeer’s Girl with a pearl earring, but there is another Vermeer, equally lovely, a view of Delft with a luminous sky. Jane Seymour’s portrait by Hans Holbein is here and there are more Avercamps. I fell in love with 2 pictures; a girl eating oysters – it is difficult to describe her expression – happy but sly?; and a young boy blowing bubbles. They were both quite small and could easily have fitted under my arm..
Krӧller-Mϋller Museum- Otterloo
Set in sylvan surroundings, including a 25 h. sculpture park this is a dream of a museum. The collection was made primarily by Helene Krӧller-Mϋller and her husband between 1907and 1922. She was also instrumental in building the museum which resembles a pavilion in the forest. The collection is still being added to. The only problem being that it is a bit difficult, but not impossible, to get to by public transport. Another quibble is that they have a very active outreach programme and you may want to take your earplugs with you as the day I visited the noise from all the children running about was considerable.
One should spend time in the sculpture park, but sadly it started to rain the day I visited so I did not see much of it. I liked the Barbara Hepworths in the Rietveld pavilion. I saw, but did not clamber over the Dubuffet large work entitled Email- perhaps it will mean more if one experiences it hands on. I very much liked the white floating swan on the pool and in the museum itself there is a space containing a Henry Moore and an early Anish Kapoor silver sphere among others.
The museum has lots of other works, not just paintings by van Gogh. On display when I visited were works by Jean Metzinger, Mondrian, Léger, Redon, Seurat, Signac, Charley Toorop among others.
The van Goghs though are the glory of the museum. I am not sure if it is the only version, but the café terrace painted at night in yellows and blues which features on many jigsaws is here, as is the bridge at Arles. There is a painting of Madame Roulin rocking the cradle almost identical to that in the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. There is a picture of Joseph Roulin too. There is a portrait of Madame Ginoux entitled l’Arlesienne painted in 1890, the year he died. They have lots of early works too including a version of the potato eaters and portraits of peasants. I would be hard pressed to choose what to tuck under my arm here, but I particularly liked a portrait of a young girl and a painting of a bowl of potatoes.
And so I come to the end of this mammoth write up. Thanks for hanging in if you are still here. I apologize if some of the pics below are not great, but as I said I have written this more to remember what I saw where. Most of these museum have pretty good websites which contain pics of many of their works, so enjoy browsing the web or better still plan a visit.
May 2022: Museums and Paintings
