The Van Abbemuseum () is a museum of

modern Modern may refer to: History * Modern history ** Early Modern period ** Late Modern period *** 18th century *** 19th century *** 20th century ** Contemporary history * Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century Phil ...

and

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

in central

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, on the east bank of the

Dommel The Dommel is a small river in Belgium and the Netherlands, left tributary of the Dieze. It is 120 km long, of which 85 km in the Netherlands. The Dommel takes in water from the Keersop, Tongelreep, Run, Gender and Kleine Dommel streams and merg ...

River. Established in 1936, the museum is named after its founder,

Henri van Abbe Henri Jacob van Abbe (; 8 January 1880 – 18 November 1940) was a Dutch people, Dutch tobacco industrialist and art collector. He is the founder of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven. Life Henri Jacob van Abbe was born on 8 January 1880 in Amste ...

, who loved modern art and wanted to enjoy it in Eindhoven. As of 2010, the collection of the museum housed more than 2700 works of art, of which about 1000 were on paper, 700 were paintings, and 1000 were sculptures, installations and

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

works. The museum has an area of 9,825 m² and holds one of the largest collections of paintings in the world by

El Lissitzky Lazar Markovich Lissitzky (russian: link=no, Ла́зарь Ма́ркович Лиси́цкий, ; – 30 December 1941), better known as El Lissitzky (russian: link=no, Эль Лиси́цкий; yi, על ליסיצקי), was a Russian artist ...

. It also has works by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

History

The museum's original collection was bought by the

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Henri van Abbe Henri Jacob van Abbe (; 8 January 1880 – 18 November 1940) was a Dutch people, Dutch tobacco industrialist and art collector. He is the founder of the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven. Life Henri Jacob van Abbe was born on 8 January 1880 in Amste ...

, a private collector and local cigar manufacturer. In return for buying some of his collection, the Van Abbe factory paid for and donated the museum building, which opened in 1936. The city had architect Alexander Kropholler design a building that is a symmetrical suite of galleries in the traditionalist style. The museum name was given in publications as "Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum" until approximately 1990 and as "Van Abbemuseum" after that time. As the building had become far too small for modern demands, a new extension to the building, including a tower, was designed by Abel Cahen; it was inaugurated in 2003 by

queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Beatrix Beatrix is a Latin feminine given name, most likely derived from ''Viatrix'', a feminine form of the Late Latin name ''Viator'' which meant "voyager, traveller" and later influenced in spelling by association with the Latin word ''beatus'' or "bles ...

Collection

The original collection contained works by

Jan Sluijters Johannes Carolus Bernardus (Jan) Sluijters, or Sluyters (17 December 1881 in 's-Hertogenbosch – 8 May 1957 in Amsterdam) was a Dutch painter and co-founder of the Moderne Kunstkring. Sluijters (in English often spelled "Sluyters") was a leadi ...

Carel Willink Albert Carel Willink (; 7 March 1900 – 19 October 1983) was a Dutch painter who called his style of Magic realism "imaginary realism". Life and career Albert Carel Willink was born on 7 March 1900 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

and

Isaac Israëls Isaac Lazarus Israëls (3 February 1865 – 7 October 1934) was a Dutch painter associated with the Amsterdam Impressionism movement. Biography The son of Jozef Israëls, one of the most respected painters of the Hague School, and Aleida ...

amongst others, mostly Dutch and Belgian contemporary works. The museum also bought other artworks from founder Henri van Abbe before his death in 1940. The collection developed most under the directorships of

Edy de Wilde Edy, provided by Rakuten, Inc. in Japan is a prepaid rechargeable contactless smart card. While the name derives from euro, euro, United States dollar, dollar, and Japanese yen, yen, it works with yen only. History Edy was launched on January ...

and

Rudi Fuchs Rudolf Herman "Rudi" Fuchs (born 28 April 1942) is a Dutch art historian and curator. Personal life Rudolf Herman Fuchs was born on 28 April 1942 in Eindhoven in the Netherlands. He studied art history from 1967 to 1975 at Leiden University, aft ...

. While De Wilde bought the classical modernist works by Picasso etc., Fuchs bought works from artists of his own generation, in particular conceptual work from the US and German painting. The current director,

Charles Esche Charles Esche (born 1962, in England) is a museum director, curator and writer. His focus is on art and how it reflects, provokes and influences changes in society. He lives between Edinburgh and Eindhoven. Career Since 2004, he has been director o ...

has pursued a more geographically diverse collecting policy concentrating on works from central and eastern Europe including Nedko Solakov, Mladen Stilinovic, Wilhelm Sasnal, Artur Zmijewski as well as video works by Israeli artist Yael Bartana. More recent acquisitions include pieces by

and

Piet Mondrian Pieter Cornelis Mondriaan (), after 1906 known as Piet Mondrian (, also , ; 7 March 1872 – 1 February 1944), was a Dutch painter and art theoretician who is regarded as one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. He is known for being ...

. The museum is also internationally renowned for having one of the largest collections of works by

. The Van Abbemuseum also houses the collection of posters made by the

Situationist The Situationist International (SI) was an Proletarian internationalism, international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and Political philosophy, political theorists. It was prominent in Eu ...

Jacqueline de Jong Jacqueline de Jong (born 1939) is a Dutch painter, sculptor and graphic artist. She was born in the Dutch town of Hengelo to Jewish parents. Faced with the German invasion, they went into hiding. After an abortive escape attempt to England, he ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

during May 1968.

Administration

is the

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

of the Van Abbemuseum. The museum had in 2011 and in 2012.

Gallery

File:VanAbbe hoofdingang.jpg, Main entrance File:VanAbbe buitenmuseum.jpg, File:VanAbbe Entree oudbouw02.jpg, Entrance of old buildings to new buildings, Rädecker John. File:VanAbbe nieuwbouw.jpg, Part of the new wing. File:VanAbbe nieuwbouw02.jpg, File:VanAbbe Kormeling03.jpg, New and old buildings. In the foreground of the house Körmeling. File:VanAbbe.jpg, See-through five floors of the building. File:VanAbbe Daklicht Oudbouw.jpg, File:VanAbbe Entree nieuwbouw.jpg, File:VanAbbe Gangen02.jpg, File:VanAbbe zaal02.jpg, File:VanAbbe zaal.jpg

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1936 establishments in the Netherlands Art museums and galleries in the Netherlands Art museums established in 1936 Modern art museums Museums in Eindhoven Rijksmonuments in North Brabant