iRijksmuseumMuseumkwartier
20th-Century Galleries
A twice-yearly spotlight display in the 20th-century galleries, this edition featuring Madelon Vriesendorp's drawings, Charley Toorop's artistic circle and photography's influence on advertising.
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A sulking Statue of Liberty and skyscrapers that hug or cheat on each other: these are Madelon Vriesendorp's New York drawings, made in the early 1970s while she and Rem Koolhaas gathered material for his research on Manhattan. The Rijksmuseum has acquired about a dozen of her works. "I've never really made anything that didn't make me laugh," she told Het Parool.
This is the museum's twice-yearly refresh of its 20th-century galleries, so you get several small displays rather than one show. You find Charley Toorop's self-portrait ringed by work from her student, her two sons and her daughter-in-law, the photographer Eva Besnyö. Nearby are 1920s and 1930s cable-factory ads by Piet Zwart and Frits Stapel, interwar political paintings and new Karel Appel acquisitions.
It sits on the collection route, not behind a separate ticket: entry is included in museum admission at €25, free for ages 18 and under, with a timed start booked in advance. Photography is allowed, and the displays change after 9 November.
Look for
Vriesendorp's New York drawings
Look for Manhattan's skyscrapers acting like people, embracing or deceiving one another, with a grumpy Statue of Liberty in a leading role.
Charley Toorop's self-portrait and her circle
Her self-portrait hangs at the centre, surrounded by photographs and paintings by Bep Rietveld, Edgar and John Fernhout, and Eva Besnyö.
Nederlandse Kabelfabriek advertisements
Designs by Piet Zwart and Frits Stapel that swapped text and drawings for photographs, making cable look modern in the 1920s and 1930s.
Henri van de Velde's The New Man
An interwar painting depicting fascist ideology, shown with a second painting and a propaganda poster from 1919 to 1939.
Karel Appel's mosaic sketch
A new acquisition: Appel's design for a mosaic dozens of metres long along the Noord-Hollands Kanaal in Amsterdam-Noord.
Good for
- Locals Who've Seen It All
- Nerding Out
Skip if
You only have time for Rembrandt and Vermeer: this is 20th-century Dutch art and design.
With kids
Free for ages 18 and under with a booked timed start. Lifts serve every floor.
Also at Rijksmuseum
On now nearby
Nearby
Image credits
8
- 20th-Century GalleriesCourtesy of Rijksmuseum
- Yoshitoshi. Master of the MoonCourtesy of Van Gogh Museum
- Whistler. Dandy and DisruptorCourtesy of Van Gogh Museum
- RijksmuseumTrougnouf (Benoit Brummer) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
- Moco MuseumC messier, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Van Gogh MuseumSteven Lek, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Stedelijk Museum AmsterdamJohn Lewis Marshall, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Museum Van LoonRijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0