Vincent and Kroller-Muller Dr. Law Chi Lim Vincent Van Gogh ( 1853 -1890) was not exactly well-known during his life time, and he managed to sell only one of his paintings , The Red Vineyard ,for 400 francs (which is now housed in the Pushkin Museum in Moscow) . After his death , Van Gogh’s paintings ,with their bold strokes ,vibrant colours, and intense emotions ( almost revolutionary at the time) gradually captured the admiration of art collectors and his reputation spread across Europe. Then, following a biographical novel about him (Lust for life, by Irving Stone, 1934), and a Hollywood film (1956, starring Kirk Douglas as Vincent) of the same name, the Americans came to know him as well. Subsequently, the hugely popular Don Mclean’s song “Vincent” ( 1972) , and the 1987 auction ( when one of his sunflower paintings was sold for a record US $40 million) catapulted Van Gogh to become a household name all over the world. But, in the beginning, who actually helped to lift Van Gogh to fame? Well, initially it was the widow of Vincent’s brother( Theo who was an art-dealer) who was determined to let the art world in Paris know about Vincent’s paintings by holding several exhibitions , but Van Gogh probably would not have become household name now if not for a lady called Helene Kroller-Muller. Helene Kroller-Muller Helene Kroller-Muller ( 1969-1939) was one of the wealthiest women in the Netherlands during her time. No wonder: she was born into a wealthy industrialist family, the Muller family, and then later married a Dutch shipping and mining tycoon called Anton Kröller and she subsequently used both surnames in accordance with Dutch tradition. She became an avid collector of art and was one of the first people in Europe to recognize the genius of Vincent Van Gogh ------ she was reputed to have bought 26 of Van Gogh’s oil-paintings in one single day. In time, she collected over 90 of his paintings and 185 drawings. When such a wealthy and influential art collector began actively collecting Van Gogh’s works , everyone else in Europe sat up and took notice . In 1928, Anton and Helene created the Kröller-Müller Foundation to protect their collection and estates. In 1935, they donated the whole collection to the Dutch people. The Kröller-Müller Museum was opened in 1938 near the town of Otterlo in the Netherlands. The modern exhibition extension was opened in 1977, and now houses much of the collection. The Kroller-Muller Museum I suspect that most of the readers of this column have never heard of this museum.

As pointed out by our guide during our last visit, this is probably one of the most underrated museums in the world----- probably because of its location which is outside the main centres in the

Netherlands. . This museum is located inside the Hoge Veluwe National Park in the Netherlands, one and a half hour by car southeast of Amsterdam. With a collection of over 90 paintings and 185 drawings by Vincent Van Gogh , it has in fact the second largest collection of the artist’s works( after the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam) in the world. A big difference though : while the Van Gogh Museum is perpetually overcrowded with tourists and you are not allowed to take pictures inside, the Kroller-Muller Museum receives only 330,000 visitors per year and if you go on a week-day , you can enjoy the place in relative peace , and here you can take photos as much as you like as long as you do not use flash. Some of Van Gogh’s most famous paintings are here : Café Terrace at night( Place du Forum) , Country Road in Provence by Night , The Potato Eaters (1885) ,etc. Apart from Van Gogh, other highlights in the museum include works by artists like Monet and other post-impressionists like Seurat, Redon, Gauguin , Picasso, etc. The exhibition spaces are spacious , well-lit , with exhibits well displayed with notes in English. This museum is do-able as a day trip from Amsterdam, but plan to spend a whole day here as it also has a very famous ( and huge) sculpture garden that spans nearly 75 acres . All the big names in modern contemporary sculpture world are here----- Rodin, Moore , Fontano , Dubuffet. I was particularly interested to see a big outdoor work by Huang Yong Ping (黃永砯), a famous contemporary Chinese sculptor now living in France . Apparently , it is a great honour for any modern artist to have his/her work exhibited in this sculpture garden here in the museum .

The best way to visit the museum from Amsterdam is by private car transfer . Taking public transport is a bit of a hassle : train from Amsterdam to Station Ede-Wageningen, transfer to bus 180 to Rotonde, then transfer to bus 106 into the Kroller-Muller museum. Total travel time is about one hour and forty minutes. Pick a day with nice weather and plan to spend 2-3 hours just in the outdoor park wandering around. There is also an outdoor café where you can get some snacks and drinks and to rest those tired feet.

The museum offers guided group tours ( 1.5 hours) on request at 110 Euros for a maximum of 20 people. If you have a small group going, it would be worthwhile arranging for such a tour. You will gain much better insight into the exhibits in the museum.