Kröller-Müller Museum
The Kröller-Müller Museum is the life's work of Helene Kröller-Müller. Between 1907 and 1922 she and her husband Anton Kröller bought almost 11,500 works of art: one of the largest private collections of the twentieth century. Helene dreams of a 'museum house', a place where she can share her love for art with everyone. When the Kröller-Müller Museum opens its doors in 1938, her dream becomes reality. Under her successors, the museum was expanded several times with new buildings and a large sculpture garden.
The Kröller-Müller Museum was founded by Helene Kröller-Müller, an avid art collector who, being advised by H.P. Bremmer, was one of the first to recognize Vincent van Gogh's genius and collect his works. In 1935, she donated her whole collection to the state of the Netherlands. In 1938, the museum, which was designed by Henry van de Velde, opened to the public. The sculpture garden was added in 1961 and the new exhibition wing, designed by Wim Quist, opened in 1977.
The museum has a considerable collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh, such as Cafe Terrace at Night, Sorrowing Old Man ('At Eternity's Gate') and a version of The Potato Eaters, making it the second-largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world (after the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam). Apart from the Van Gogh paintings other highlights include works by Piet Mondrian, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Odilon Redon, Georges Braque, Paul Gauguin, Lucas Cranach, James Ensor, Juan Gris, William Degouve de Nuncques and Pablo Picasso.
The Kröller-Müller Museum is also famous for its large sculpture garden, within the forest park, of more than 75 acres (30 ha) and one of the largest in Europe, with a fine collection of modern and contemporary sculptures. The garden reflects Helene Kröller-Müller's conception of a symbiosis between art, architecture and nature.The collection includes works by Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Jean Dubuffet, Mark di Suvero, Lucio Fontana, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, Fritz Wotruba, Joep van Lieshout and many more.
