The Kröller-Müller Museum Otterlo, Netherlands

The Kröller-Müller Museum (Dutch pronunciation: [krɵlərˈmylər myˌzeːjɵm]) is a national art museum and sculpture garden, located in the Hoge Veluwe National Park in Otterlo in the Netherlands. The museum was founded by art collector Helene Kröller-Müller and opened in 1938. It has the second-largest collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh, after the Van Gogh Museum. The museum had 380,000 visitors in 2015.

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The Kröller-Müller Museum was founded by Helene Kröller-Müller, an avid art collector who was one of the first to recognize Vincent van Gogh’s genius and collect his works. In 1935, she donated her whole collection to the state of the Netherlands. In 1938, the museum, which was designed by Henry van de Velde, opened to the public. The sculpture garden was added in 1961 and the new exhibition wing, designed by Wim Quist, opened in 1977.

The museum has a considerable collection of paintings by Vincent van Gogh, such as Cafe Terrace at Night, Sorrowing Old Man (‘At Eternity’s Gate’) and a version of The Potato Eaters, making it the second-largest collection of Van Gogh paintings in the world (after the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam). Apart from the Van Gogh paintings other highlights include works by Piet Mondrian, Georges-Pierre Seurat, Odilon Redon, Georges Braque, Paul Gauguin, Lucas Cranach, James Ensor, Juan Gris, and Pablo Picasso.

The Kröller-Müller Museum is also famous for its large sculpture garden, within the forest park, of more than 75 acres (30 ha) and one of the largest in Europe, with a fine collection of modern and contemporary sculptures. The garden reflects Helene Kröller-Müller’s conception of a symbiosis between art, architecture and nature.[5] The collection includes works by Auguste Rodin, Henry Moore, Jean Dubuffet, Mark di Suvero, Lucio Fontana, Claes Oldenburg, Fritz Wotruba, Joep van Lieshout and many more.

The Kröller-Müller Museum has a world-renowned collection of mainly 19th and 20th century visual art. Our centrepieces include the large collection of work by Vincent van Gogh and the sculpture garden.

The Kröller-Müller Museum is named after Helene Kröller-Müller (1869-1939). Helene Kröller-Müller collected almost 11,500 art objects with the help of her advisor, H.P. Bremmer. The purchases were paid for from the capital accumulated by her husband Anton Kröller-Müller as director of Wm. H. M Kröller-Müller & Co.

Helene Kröller-Müller dreamt of a museum-home, a dream that came true in 1938 when the Rijksmuseum Kröller-Müller opened its doors. Helene Kröller-Müller was its first director.

After her death in 1939 the museum building underwent a few expansions with the addition of a congress wing and sculpture gallery in 1953 and a whole new wing between 1970 and 1977. This wing served as a suitable accommodation for the growing collection of modern sculpture. The museum’s sculpture garden has increased in size over the years and is now one of the largest in Europe.