EVERYTHING I LIKE ABOUT AN ESCAPADE

It goes without saying that I was looking forward to our little escapade with Laurent and Jerome. We were off to the Hague for 48 hours. The trip had been booked months ago. I have to admit that I put the pressure on about taking a return train mid afternoon on the Sunday.  Four years ago when Marielle and I returned from Rotterdam, a late afternoon in November, we were blocked by snow. The wait at the station was horrific and even more so as no one seemed to know what was happening. This time we arrived in blazing sunlight and 16c. Climate change?

The first glimpses of the Hague were fascinating. An old city capped by a little Shanghai! There seems to be no relation between the buildings. Some very modern and others not so, yet the relationship between them was harmonious. I couldn't help thinking as we wandered down through the centre of the city to our hotel, that this is a rich environment. Sophisticated shops, the restaurants were chock a block and no one begging in the streets.

Came to meet us....

The skyline

Family reunited!

If someone had said that our first port of call would be the beach. My reply would certainly have been, "In November? Nonsense!" It's hard to believe that we walked along the beach before lunch and before our "culture" visits started.

Us and the beach!

A succesful selfie

Jerome had of course mapped out our itinerary and apart from the one tram ride to and from the beach, we went everywhere on foot. The only way to visit a new city in my book. Our first museum was the Maurltshuis. A museum which had just opened its doors after a period of renovation. It houses the Royal Cabinet age of paintings, primarily from the Dutch Golden age from the 17th century. Artists such as Rembrandt, Vemeer, Hans Steen, Holbein and as you can imagine, many I didn't know. The building itself is 17th century and is listed amongst the top 100 of Dutch heritage sites. It belongs to the government!

 It was a Saturday and much to my surprise, the Dutch were there in flocks. It was a matter of avoiding heads and chopping and changing galleries in no particular order. Thanks to Marielle, I have learnt to appreciate the Flemish Masters. This time I didn't feel so inadequate in front of a painting. A lot has got to do with their subject. The scenes depicted are much more down to earth, day-to-day situations and not an overdose of religious themes which I find rather overpowering with the  Italians or Spanish or for that matter, Renaissance art in general.

However, I still feel that the children painted seem to have adult faces on children's bodies. Just a few examples.....

Govert Flink (1615-1660) Girl by a High chair, 1640

Caspar Netscher 1(635/36-1684) A Boy blowing  bubles

Portrait of a deceased girl 1682

Frans Hals (1582/1666) Laughing boy, 1625

Rembrandt (1606-1699) never ceases to amaze me. The light, the brush work, his use of colour and the realistic themes in his work. He too surprises me with subjects I don't relate to his work, not to mention than 90 self portraits. I wonder how many I have seen?

Rembrandt (1606-1669) Self portrat ith a Gorget : after 1629

Rembrandt - Tronie of an old man (1630/31)

Rembrandt: Susanna,1636

Rembrandt, Laughing man

There was one painting which really caught my attention. Brueghel the Elder and Rubens. At the beginning of the 17th century they were the most famous artists in Antwerp and also very close friends in a working relationship. From the few paintings I have seen there is no doubt who had painted what. The voluptuous figures of Rubens and the meticulous jewel-like works of Brueghel.

The Garden of Eden with the Fall of Man, 1635

Vermeer, Girl with the Earring (1665)

Of course there was Vermeer (1632-1675) and the "Girl with the Pearl Earring" (1665).

View of Delft (1660/61)

Not to pass by his very famous landscape "View of Delft"  (1660/61). Probably the most famous landscape of the Dutch Golden age. It's not difficult to admire the peaceful nature of this work, the light and those remarkable clouds.


Carel Fabrititius) (1662-1654) charmed us with his Goldfinch - (1654). He was so very different from everything else.

The Goldfinch (1654)

Of course Holbein, Cranach were there and Ruysdael 1600/03-1670 who I have always found remarkably modern in his approach to landscapes. This was painted in 1650/51.

Nicoaes Maes (1634-1693) The Old Lacemaker, 1655

Ruysdael (1600/03-1670) View of Salining Boats on a Lake, 1650/51)

Rubens, Old Woman and Boy with Candles (1616-1617)

Cranach l (1472-1533)Virgin and Child, 1515/20

Hans Holbein ll (1497/98-1543) Portrait of a Nobleman with a Flacon, 1542

Another surprise which as a subject could have been painted today was this "The Confiscation of an Artist's studio (1590) done by Francois Bunell II (1550-1593). 16th century perhaps but the subject matter could be today!

François Bunel ll (1550-1593) The Confiscation of the Contents of a Painter's Studio 1590

Ambrosius Bosschaert (1573-1621)- Vase of flowers in a wndow

I think these were the painting I appreciated the most. Still life and flowers are really not "me" but Jerome did point out that all the flowers in this painting came from different seasons. Live and learn!


Tomorrow it would be Rothko and the moderns. However, the afternoon had been  a real pleasure.

After a good nights sleep, we were off to see the Rothko at the Gemeente Museum. This was the first major retrospective in the Netherlands for 40 years. I know his work quite well. Pierrette and I had seen a large scale exhibit in London some years back, but from what I had read, this would include a lot of his early work, which I didn't know at all.

I didn't think there would be too many people and at the beginning of the day it wasn't too bad. When we left some hours later, the queue left me wide eyed!

Many people just see color fields in Rothko's work and find it rather boring. I admit that at times, the color combinations are not so appealing, but on the whole Rothko's work is mysterious and seems to wrap me in silky blanket. I'm drawn into his world as if it is expressing many different emotions. It's a work which needs silence as you gaze at the intensity of the color combinations. He was not a happy man. Frequently in depression yet he produced art which seems to bring warmth and comfort. His black is not black. Look closer and you see something else, reaching out to englobe you with a reassuring hug and tenderness. Silence should be imposed in his exhibitions. The paintings need silence for the color to envelop you.

Untitled, 1949

Untitled, 1953

N° 5, 1958

1958/ reworked 1964/65

Umber; Blue, Umber, Brown, 1962

Immersed

And me too

Untitled, 1938

Untitled, 1969

Red Band, 1955

Untitled, (Harvard Mural Sketch), 1962

Untitled, (Seagram Mural Sketch) 1958

Untitled, (Seagram Mural Sketch), 1959

Untitled, (Seagram Mural Sketch)

His early work is surprising and quite unexpected. It's rarely shown so we were privileged to see such a wide selection of his work.

Rothko, No title, 1947

1947

Metro Fantasy, 1940

Street Scene 1936/37

Aquatic Drama, 1946

N° 9, 1948

Untitled, 1941/42

Untitled, 1948

I did not know until then that there had been such a close relationship with Mondrian. It's not easy to see the influence that the Dutch artist had on Rothko except perhaps for the use of color.  This is the first time their art has been exposed together. Some Mondrian I like immensely but not as I feel drawn to Rothko.

Mondrian, Composition n° lV, 1914

Mondrian, Composition N° 3 with colour planes, 1917

Mondrian, Sea After Sunset, 1909

The two last paintings by both men were hung   next to one another. There is no similar relationship for me and as Rothko's is a startling red.

The Last, 1970

Piet Mondrian (1872-1944)  Victoria Boogie Woogie, 1942-44

 I have often wondered if this is his inner self announcing his suicide.The title of Mondrian's last painting is musical but there is no title for the  Rothko.

Rothko, was of Russian-Jewish extraction (1903-1970). The last years of his life were overshadowed by mental health problems and with these his palette became even darker with a final éclat of red.

N° 7, 1964

Untitled, 169

N° 8 (Orange on Maroon) 1960

N° 8 (Orange on Maroon) 1960

Untitled, 1957

We followed this exhibition by the permanent collection and yes, there were many favorites which I was very happy to see. Even the Francis Bacon room was surprising and many others presented as always artists I didn't know.

Morandi (1890-1964) Natura Morta, 1950

Piet Mondrian (1872-1944), Church at Oostkapelle,1808-09

Jacoba Van Heemskerck (1876-1923) Two Trees, Domburg, 1908-10. New for me

Leo Gesterl, (1881-1941) Autumn Tree, 1911

Laurent in an empty gallery

Picasso (1881-1973) Woman with a mustard pot, 1910

Karel Appel, (1921-2006) Child lV, 1951

Asger Jorn (1914-1973) The Ferocious Rose, 1961

Heinrich Campendonk 1889-1957

A pleasing wall of favorites

Jacofa Van Heemskerck (1876-1923) Landscape, 1919-20

Alexej Von Jawlensky (1864-1941) Woman's Face 1911

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, (1880-1938) Czardas Dancers, 1908-1920

Van Gogh, (1853-1890) Garden at Arles, 1888

Jan Toorop, Dunes and Sea near Zoutelande, 1907

Jan Toorop; (1858-1928) November Afternoon. So unlike his usual work

Claude Monet, (1840-1926) Fishing nets at Pourvilles, 1882

The Francis Bacon gallery

Francis Bacon, (1909-1992) Seated Figure, 1989

Taking a photo in the F.B. gallery

Matthew Day Jackson, 1974 - The Tomb 2010

Peter Doig, 1959- Red House, 1959

Constant

Constant - Erotic Space, 1971

Michael Raedecker, 1963 - The Reflex, 2003

daniel Richter, 1962 - Take the Long and Winding road, 2006

Matthew Day Jackson, 1974 - The Tomb 2010

Matthew Day Jackson, 1974 - The Tomb 2010

Lee Bontecou, 1960

Frank Ammerlaan, 1979 - Untitled 2012

Wil Schumacher (1894-1986) San Gimgnano, 1926

But I was as I think we all were, at saturation point. We would give a miss to the Mondrian exhibition. I personally wanted to feel that warmth of Rothko's color enveloping me for a while to come.