In Rotterdam and want to know the best art museums of town? Well you can fill up your culture-tank to the rim in the city. Come along to the top 4 museums in Rotterdam that you don’t want to miss.
Museum Boijmans van Beuningen
The Boijmans is one of the best museums in Rotterdam, if you ask me. It’s also the largest museum with an impressive collection including paintings, drawings, sculptures, furniture, decorative arts, and other types of design. The permanent collection of paintings and sculptures take you through the ages from the Middle Ages to the 20th century. In another wing of the museum you’ll find what came after: contemporary art, mostly in temporary exhibitions.
Don’t forget to look for the infinite mirror room of Yayoi Kusama! The museum also organizes one blockbuster exhibition a year and some smaller ones. The big ones have already drawn large numbers with Ugo Rondinone, Jheronimus Bosch, and many more through the years.
See the amazing colorful photos of the Ugo Rondinone exhibition here:
http://museologue.com/ugo-rondinone-clowns/
More information on the website of Boijmans van Beuningen.
Kunsthal
The Kunsthal is an exhibition center without its own collection. But it sure knows how to entertain. The building itself is a dream. Constructed by the famous Rem Koolhaas it has corners, alleys, and see-through stairways screwing up your orientation. A true museum to wander.
On the downstairs floor there are usually large exhibitions. There have been fantastic shows about Yves Saint Laurent and Keith Haring. On one of the top floors you’ll usually find art exhibitions including photography. It’s always a surprise.
You’ll find the museum in the same park as Boijmans van Beuningen (Museumpark). Check out the current exhibitions on the website of the Kunsthal.
Huis Sonneveld: modernist model home
Huis Sonneveld belongs to the New Institute, together with the large museum about architecture and design. They are right next to each other. The museum is big, nice, impressive, and so forth. But I’d like to mention Huis Sonneveld, because it’s different. It’s a model modernist home from 1933 in the Dutch style: De Stijl. The style of Gerrit Rietveld and Piet Mondriaan: not decorative but super functional and square. And super modern for the 1930s!
Pay special attention to the bell under one of the corners of the table. It was pre-digital technology for ringing the servant. Impressively innovative for those times.
The adventure of your visit already begins at the door: you will be asked to put a cover over your shoes not to damage the carpet. It’s worth it to take the audio tour and hear more about the ins and outs of the house.
See beautiful photos for a first impression on the website of Huis Sonneveld.
Nederlands Fotomuseum: Dutch Photography Museum
Rotterdam has its own large photography museum that I really love. The space on the ground floor often shows large exhibitions, like the one of Mark Cohen (see the picture on top of this post). Then there’s the -1 level, where there’s a permanent exhibition explaining the history of photography in a fun way. They let you put “photos” in the development buckets in order to start video projections.
Find out what the museum offers right now on the website of Nederlands Fotomuseum.
Not done with the museums in Rotterdam yet? Go for City Art in Rotterdam-Noord, which isn’t quite a museum bit it sure looks like it! Curious? Read more at
http://museologue.com/city-art-gallery-rotterdam-didnt-know/
