Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen is a multifaceted museum in the heart of the Netherland’s harbour city, Rotterdam. It is the only museum in the Netherlands that offers the visitor a comprehensive survey of Western art from the Middle Ages to the present day.
A museum shaped by private collectors
Visitors to the museum are often astonished by the wealth and variety of the collection. The scope and diversity are thanks to 1700 private collectors who have gifted no fewer than 50,000 objects in almost 170 years.
The museum derives its name from two important collectors: Frans Boijmans and Daniël George van Beuningen. They added many masterpieces to the collection, including ‘The Pedlar’ by Hieronymus Bosch and ‘A Cornfield, in the Background the Zuiderzee’ by Jacob van Ruisdael.
A world-class collection
The museum contains old master paintings and sculpture, modern and contemporary art, decorative arts, pre-industrial household objects and industrial design. The collections of prints and drawings, early Netherlandish painting, Impressionism and Surrealism are among the best in the world. And the museum organises spectacular temporary exhibitions throughout the year.
Old and modern masters
The Old Master collection includes works by Van Eyck, Fra Angelico, Bosch, Bruegel, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dyck, Titian and Delacroix. The Impressionist collection features masterpieces by leading artists such as Monet, Cézanne, Pissarro, Renoir and Degas, supplemented by Dutch masters such as Van Gogh and Breitner. Expressionism is represented by Kandinsky, Jawlenksy, Kokoschka, Van Dongen, Munch and Beckmann, among others. The Surrealist collection, one of the largest in Europe, includes iconic works by Dalí, Magritte and Ernst. Art since 1945 is also well represented by movements such as Cobra, Minimalism and Pop art.
Contemporary art and design
The museum has a magnificent collection of household objects that chart the history of design over eight centuries. From medieval pitchers and glass from the Golden Age to furniture by Rietveld and contemporary Dutch design. The museum’s art collection is brought up to date with works by internationally renowned contemporary artists such as Matthew Barney, Maurizio Cattelan, Olafur Eliasson and Pipilotti Rist.
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