Monday, May 31, 2010

Arnhem: Gateway to the Kröller-Müller Museum

From Volendam, we cruised to Arnhem on the River Empress. Our shore excursion in Arnhem was a visit to the Kröller-Müller Museum which is named after Helene Kröller-Müller, daughter of a German industrialist who collected 11,500 art works. Helene's favorite artist was Vincent van Gogh and she acquired 91 of his paintings. For me, the collection of Van Gogh's paintings was the highlight of the museum. We were lucky to have a guide who was knowledgeable about Van Gogh and who could explain how his artistic style evolved over time.

I don't spend a lot of time in art museums but I have always been drawn to the wonderful display of colors and interesting textures of the Impressionist painters. If you are particularly fond of Van Gogh, you will enjoy the collection of Van Gogh's paintings at the Kröller-Müller Museum; it is one of the largest collection of his works in the world.

The Kröller-Müller Museum also includes a sculpture gallery and a 75-acre sculpture garden which contains a unique collection of more than 160 sculptures by world-famous artists. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to really explore the sculpture garden and the weather didn't cooperate much either.

Although we spent about as much time in the bus getting to and from the museum as we spent at the museum it was well worth the trip.

More photos of the Kröller-Müller Museum collection

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