PICASSO, CEZANNE, MONDRIAAN

Tuesday I went to a new exhibition on paintings on Picasso, Cezanne and Mondriaan in the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. An exhibition which received huge attention in the media and was opened by the Queen Friday a week ago. So I was curious to see what actually was exposed. I must honestly say that it was a disappointment; as a regular visitor of the museum I recognized a lot of the works exhibited, although some works of mainly Cezanne were added.

Cezanne, widely recognized as the first painter of modern art at the end of the 19th century, is not one of my favourites. Of course it is high quality painting and ground-breaking for the impressionist movement later, but it does not stick in my mind or touches my heart. Picasso is more to my liking, but the Picasso-exhibition of a few months ago was more impressive and more exhaustive. Mondriaan is very recognizable, but once I knew the philosophy behind his paintings in my modern art course (the search for the perfect composition), it became annoying.

The exhibition attracts a lot of people and I suppose for visitors who do not come to The Hague that often a lot of the works shown are new and intresting.

UPDATE ON ART

After my job interview in Amsterdam last week I went to an art exhibition at the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) at Dam Square on religion in modern art. These are basically works from the Stedelijk Museum who are on display while the Stedelijk is closed for renovation.

First question: why do museums always have to close their doors for years and years for renovation ? Of course they want to do it thoroughly and they want to have it look nice and usually they manage to do so. But if you have your plans ready, the contractor chosen and the finances arranged you can start and do the job, or am I naive ? The costs usually get completely out of control , questions are being asked, decisions to be reconsidered. In the meantime Amsterdam's reputation as a tourist magnet is deteriorating.

Second question: which marketing genius has decided that both the Rijksmuseum and the Stedelijk Museum have to be renovated at the same time ? People come from all over the world and want to see these museums (usually after they have been to the Vincent van Gogh Museum); very frustrating if they get to the museum and have to read that they are closed. I have experienced that myself several times I was abroad. Luckily the Rijks has been able to display the star pieces in a small wing of the museums.

OK; back to the Nieuwe Kerk. I was curious to see what the influence of religion on modern art was. In my opinion modern art is a sort of rebellion against the dogmas and conservatism of the small-mindedness of the civil society, which includes religion; is religion now becoming a protest ? It started with a room with ironic and humoristic protests against the influence of religion on modern society. In my opinion also the most interesting room. I like art that has a message, without being too moralizing and leaving some room for interpretation.









GILBERT & GEORGE - SHITTY
JEFF KOONS - USHERING IN BANALITY

These two pieces I really liked. Not because they are so beautiful or nice to watch, but because these are pieces that have something to say and lead to mixed and fierce reactions (although certainly with Jeff Koons you need some explanation before you get the meaning). The church as mass hysteria that refuses to keep up with time.

The rest of the exhibition did not stick into my mind and with some works I thought the link with religion was too far-fetched. In my opinion it is not spiritual, transcedental or religious simply because there is a cross somewhere in the picture. Some of them are also successors of the religious paintings of the past, which are usually vague, with pastels and dreamy atmosphere. I like pictures to be big, confronting and with bold colours. How come ?!

THE ART OF THE XX-CENTURY

In my introduction you could read that I am a lover of art, especially modern art. Everything that surprises me or starts me thinking is a source of inspiration; beautiful or ugly does not matter. At this moment only an inspiration for my mind; although I would like to find some kind of artistic outlet, I can not decide which form to choose. Wait a minute ..., a weblog is also a kind of artistic outlet !

OK. Earlier this week I went to see an exhibition with an overview on the art of the XX-century in the Gemeentemuseum (Municipal Museum) here in The Hague, mainly with works of the museum and all the big names: Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, Picasso, Mondriaan, Bacon, Stella, Warhol, Paik, Richter and so on. I had seen them all before, but if you look at them in a chronological order, you see the developments more clearly and as usual, the lay-out of the exhibition is always special at the Gemeentemuseum; by the way - the architecture of the building is very special too. To be seen !!!



The Gemeentemuseum is a museum of international standard with an outstanding collection of works of modern art (mainly first half of the 20th century). The link to the website of the museum:



http://www.gemeentemuseum.nl/index.php?id=1&langId=en



Be sure to spend some time relaxing in café Gember next to the museum with a large terrace overlooking the pond. One

of my daytime-favorites!