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Last Updated: 03. Mai 2000
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The Netherlands
Amsterdam
Rijksmuseum
Stedelijk Museum
Anne Frank House and the Canals
Rijksmuseum
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We saw the Rijksmuseum - where there paintings by various Dutch masters including Rembrandt and Vermeer. The Vermeer paintings (The Milk Maid and Woman Reading a Letter) are very small which is very surprising because Vermeer had such a great influence in art history. He was a major influence for the Impressionists because he is one of the best colorist in the history of art. Because of his influence, it seemed that his paintings should be monumental like Raphel's paintings but they are very small and personal.
We also saw two of the most famous Rembrandt self-portraits - one when he was 17 years old with his face is in the shadows and the other one was when he was much older, about 60+ years old. Rembrandt's Night Watch has a special focus in this museum. There is a detailed explanation about the painting that is located in a room leading up to the Night Watch. It reminded me of art history courses - so it was a good review. We went to the art museum with Bob Phillips, a friend from Philadelphia, fellow art student and current World Harvest missionary who loves to tease little girls. Of course, since we were in Holland, there were many still life paintings with fruit, cheese, bread or other assorted food items. So, when we walked into a new room, he asked Erika, if she was hungry yet! Well, she was very amused by him and it made a rather fun time for her too!
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Stedelijk Museum
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The Stedelijk Museum is nearby the Rijksmuseum; so we saw Amsterdam's modern art museum also. It specializes in mid-19th century art and onwards. So, I saw some De Stijl artists such as Van Doesburg, Mondrian as well as Chagall, Malevitch, and a few Cezannes. It's amazing to me that Chagall uses various motifs repeatedly. The horse that is painted on the left side of the canvas, "I and The Village" is used a couple of times in the paintings that I saw. This motif is very recognizable! There was an entire room devoted to Malevitch who is a major artist in the Russian Constructivist Movement. It was during a very brief period (1917-1924) in Russia that Lenin allowed and even encouraged the avant-garde movement. This room showed the progression of Malevitch's style from semi-abstract to minimalist - very impressive room! For some reason, I was always impressed with his work - perhaps it's because he tried to make his forms as pure as musical notes without reference to any recognizable object. For a good synopsis or visual samples of Malevitch's work, do not turn to Janson's History of Art because Janson has a bias against this artist.
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Anne Frank House and the Canals
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We visited Anne Frank's House. It was a moving experience to view and hear stories about the terrorism during the Nazi regime. It was difficult to explain this story to Erika. My feelings of sorrow were quite evident as I recounted the horrors of Nazi terrorism to a young child. The streets of Amsterdam look exactly like some of the movies depicting Anne Frank and Corrie Ten Boom. The numerous canals and bridges makes Amsterdam fun to walk through because nearly every block, we were crossing another bridge! On a canal boat ride we saw many reasons to return to Amsterdam including a new Science and Technology Museum that is designed like a boat, a cool floating Chinese restaurant, and a Pirate's ship at the Maritime Museum.
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Die Fotogalerie von die Niederlande
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