Posts Tagged With: Art

Art in The Hague (Or: The Ball Gown)

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Niki

Near the Passage there is a small alleyway called Achterom which translates to “Around the back”. It refers to the fact that this small alleyway was once the alternative entrance to the Buitenhof. The street followed The Haagse Beek (a creek or brook) and the walls of the Buitenhof.

achterom-street-crossing-with-the-passage-the-hague

Achterom – cutting through the Passage.

achterom-alleyway-in-the-hague

The alleyway first winds right

achterom-by-dok-cooking-store-in-the-hague

…and then left. In the distance is the corner of Achterom and Kettingstraat (“Necklace street”) where the Ball Gown artwork can be found

de-baljurk-the-ball-gown-the-hague

Map of how Acterom (here the white line) crosses De Passage. The red star marks the corner where the Ball Gown can be found.

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Colored blocks on the Hofvijver (Or: Mondriaan inspired creations)

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Niki

Over the weekend I posted about the side of the city hall in The Hague being turned into the largest Mondriaan design in the world. This was to honour the 100th anniversary of the art movement De Stijl.

But the city did not stop there… they also put in colored blocks on the Hofvijver!

colored-boxes-on-the-hofvijver-mondriaan-in-the-hague

Marco and I were remarked that it looked like a video game… just try and jump between them, with rules like ‘blue blocks last 4 seconds’ and ‘yellow blocks last 2 seconds’ before falling into the water. Just to keep you on your toes, of course!

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Biggest Mondriaan in the world (Or: Designs on The Hague’s city hall)

Posted on February 4, 2017 by Niki

The city hall of The Hague has been repainted in the colours of Piet Mondriaan! Check out the photo I took this morning:

largest-mondriaan-in-the-world-on-the-city-hall-of-the-hague

Pretty cool, right? The artwork is celebrating 100 years of the De Stijl art movement, which was founded in 1917 in Amsterdam. Piet Mondriaan (or ‘Mondrian’ after he dropped one of the a’s in his name) was well-known for his work with primary colors together with the colors black and white.

In the coming weeks other buildings will receive the same treatment, including the nearby Pathé Spui movie theatre, the Bilderberg hotel in Scheveningen and the Hofvijver in the center of the city.

If you are interested in seeing Mondriaan’s art, head over to the Gemeentemuseum (= city museum). With over 300 pieces, they have the largest Mondriaan collection in the world. They were closed today to prepare for the new De Stijl exhibit. They will reopen tomorrow, with tomorrow (only) featuring free entry to see the exhibit. If you have time you should check it out!

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Delft blauw guitar (Or: Random curiosities in the Rijksmuseum)

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Niki

As my last post suggested, Marco and I visited the Rijksmuseum a few weeks back. Here are some of the photos I took. First, a guitar made in the style of delfts blauw:

Delft blauw guitar in Rijksmuseum

Now look at the picture again, but this time focus on the top of the guitar. That is a bit unnerving!

More delfts blauw:

Delft blauw items at Rijksmuseum

A painting illuminated from the back with lights:

Illuminated painting at Rijksmuseum

And finally, a look down at the Rijksmuseum library:

Rijksmuseum library
I’ve always loved taking photos of spiral staircases. Pretty!

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Clouds (Or: Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam)

Posted on July 11, 2016 by Niki

From a few weeks back, when Marco and I took a day off to visit Amsterdam:


Note the “I am Amsterdam” art installation (climbable at your own risk!). Besides the Rijksmuseum we also visited the American Book Center, an English language bookstore, and Eichholtz Delicatessen, a great store for American (and international) candy and snacks.

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Dutch painting trivia (Or: Next to ‘Girl with a pearl earring’)

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Niki

I am sure a lot of you know the painting ‘Girl with a pearl earring’ in The Hague, painted by Vermeer.

Girl with a pearl earring

But do you know what painting is next to it in the room?

It’s a head scratcher.

Mother combing her child's hair

‘Mother combing her child’s hair’. Not too noteworthy, right?

Except she is not holding a comb.

The sub title is ‘Hunting for Lice’.

Yep.

I wonder if that was deliberate to keep the line moving after you study the Girl with a pearl earring. Though the painting is beautiful in its own right.

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At the water’s edge (Or: Gemeentemuseum in The Hague)

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Niki

Some time ago I was walking past the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. As you might be able to guess from the name, it’s an art museum. I’ve only been inside once so far, to see a Delfts blauw exhibit. That is blue and white pottery made in the Delft area since the 16th century.

Gemeentemuseum in The Hague

Pretty, huh?

The weather is turning colder this week. About 50 degrees Fahrenheit, when it should be closer to 60 for this time of year. It’s hard to believe it will be Christmas in a few months!

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Green and yellow (Or: Artwork of The Hague)

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Niki

Here is a picture of random art from The Hague:

Art work at a Dutch school

It is green and yellow, to represent the colors of The Hague (also the colors of The Hague’s flag). Above is a piece of art in a Dutch school.

Of all random things to do on a Thursday night, I am currently watching an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. The Darmok episode to be exact. A good episode to see Patrick Stewart acting. 😉

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A view of fishies while you eat (Or: M C Escher)

Posted on February 18, 2015 by Niki

A few weeks ago, Roger, Marco and I went to the café in Marks and Spencer for mid-afternoon coffee and cake. Yum! At some point I looked over Roger’s shoulder and finally noticed what should have been glaringly obvious as soon as we walked in. There was a fish staring back at us!

 

click to see a slightly larger version

M C Escher’s Three Worlds; click to see a slightly larger version

It is a lithograph by Dutch artist M C Escher, “Three Worlds” (Wikipedia). Hopefully the picture above gives a good sense of the enormity of this copy – the fish itself is pretty much the size of an adult human!

Here is a close-up:

M C Escher Three Worlds at Marks and Spencer 2

Click for a larger version

 

The black and white colors blend in nicely with the the rest of the café as well. If you’re in the area (the central part of The Hague) make sure you check it out!

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Graffiti of Delft (Or: On the way to Ikea)

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Niki

A few weeks ago, Marco and I went to Ikea in Delft to see if we could buy a bookshelf for me. I originally wanted the narrow, but tall version, in dark wood – but it was way too heavy to carry back on the tram. So we settled for the shorter version which still stores a fair amount.

Of course, I still need to populate it with more than junk (there’s a lot of random papers that I threw in there simply to clear off the nightstand) but it did mean that I was able to set up the earring holder I got for Christmas. Which made me realize I have a lot of blue earrings, but could use some more of other colors…

Some other random news: I started the second half of the B2-C1 Dutch course at Volksuniversiteit. Like the last one, it is 10 weeks and should be done around the third week of March. After that, my Dutch is good enough to sign up for courses (in general, not just at this school) with native speakers. Hmmm…

I’ll leave you with a few pictures of graffiti that I took on the ride over to Ikea. The owl has already made an appearance on this blog, but this picture is a bit better. The other is new.

Owl graffiti in The Hague

Random graffiti in The Hague

The graffiti is always more interesting on this side of the pond!

Categories: Daily Dutch living, Delft | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

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