COLLECTION PRESENTATION 1880 - 1950

In the rooms on the lower floor of the museum, a selection of the rich collection of artworks from the period 1880 - 1950 is displayed. Featuring works by modern Dutch master painters, such as Floris Verster, Menso Kamerlingh Onnes, Jan Toorop, Theo van Doesburg and Harm Kamerlingh Onnes.

MODERNITY IN LEIDEN

The innovations taking place in art in the late nineteenth century made as much of a mark in Leiden as they did elsewhere. An important source of inspiration was the artist Jan Toorop who lived in nearby Katwijk between 1890 and 1904.Toorop’s associates included the writer Albert Verwey, who lived on the coast in Noordwijk, and the Leiden painters Floris Verster and Menso Kamerlingh Onnes. Applying paint to the canvas with broad, loose brushstrokes, these artists embraced the influences of Impressionism and Symbolism.

H.P. BREMMER

Artist Henk Bremmer spent his formative years around 1890 in Leiden. He gained national recognition as an art professional and advised wealthy individuals on their art collections. Including Hélène Kröller-Müller, who has laid the foundations for the present Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo.

THEO VAN DOESBURG

Theo van Doesburg resided in Leiden between 1916 and 1922. His radical rejection of nineteenth century art inspired young Leiden artists such as Hendrik Valk, Theo Lohmann and Harm Kamerlingh Onnes. They started to produce modern, geometrically abstract works too. In 1917, he first published the journal De Stijl that would be influential throughout Europe. To this day, the abstract visual language of De Stijl is regarded as one of the most significant contributions to Modernity in the twentieth century.